X-Ray and Vav
by The Freelancer Collaboration
Summary: Achievement City, once controlled by gangs and drug lords, has been freed through the heroism of the superheroes X-Ray and Vav. However, in doing so they have created enemies far worse than any that they had faced before. The Community has stirred, and will not rest until the heroes are dead. Can they defeat it? Or will it destroy them?
1. Chapter 1: Let's Start

**(A/N) Hey all, NicKenny here with a new story from the Freelancer Collaboration, to coincide with the release of Red vs Blue Season 11, finally revealing the full story of X-Ray and Vav, and their struggle against the villainous Community, the shadowy organisation running much of the organised crime within Achievement City.**

**At the moment we are still looking for writers to take part in this project, so, if you're interested, please head on over to our forum. It's also called The Freelancer Collaboration, and is under the Misc and then Red vs Blue categories. You can't miss it. :) Myself and Jerem6401 will be heading this project, but for any inquiries about the fic please message us on this account, and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.**

**Anyway, I'm going to leave you now to begin the fic, and hopefully we'll be seeing all of you again very soon.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter One - Let's Start**

**Dr Gavin Free / Vav**

**Written by NicKenny**

* * *

"_The hero is one who kindles a great light in the world, who sets up blazing torches in the dark streets of life for men to see by."_ – Felix Adler

* * *

Dr Gavin Free hastily changed into his jeans and FISH!™ t-shirt, throwing his scrubs into the laundry bin next to his locker, almost falling over in the process. Letting out a small scream, he stuck out his left hand and caught the edge of his locker's door, using it to regain his balance.

'_Idiot,'_ he thought to himself. _'What would Michael have said if he had seen that?'_

"Nice screaming, Gavvy-Wavvy. You wet yourself or did you just realise One Direction tickets had just gone up on sale?"

'_Damnit!' _So much for that hope.

"Michael," he replied, his voice quavering slightly. "There is nothing wrong with One Direction. One-D are top, and I…I won't stand hear and let you insult them."

Michael held up his hands in mock surrender. "Alright, alright, I'll let you off. So, what did you do to youself?"

"Fell over."

"Ah," Michael said, nodding slightly as realisation dawned. "Smooth. Just as well you did it now, rather than during that heart transplant we were doing earlier. I swear to God, if you drop another heart during surgery, the Chief is going to have both our asses fired."

Gavin sighed, shrugging Michael's criticisms aside. "Yeah, yeah. But that heart joke I made was pretty funny. I'd almost go as far as to say that it is the funniest thing I have ever done." After a moment's pause he decided to add: "While sober."

His colleague chuckled, changing out of his own scrubs. "What, the 'Michael, I'll give you my heart' line? Not bad, but the bit when you described his liver as 'doo doo' really cracked me up. Almost ended up stabbing the guy with the scalpel."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Gavin muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"…What was what?" Gavin replied, smiling in mock (or possibly, very real) confusion.

Michael just shook his head and sighed, opening his locker and rummaging around inside for a moment. "I worry about you, sometimes, you know that? If you didn't have me looking out for you, where would you be?"

'_Probably a lot better off,' _Gavin thought in the privacy of his mind, but kept his mouth shut. After all, he didn't have all that many friends. It wouldn't do to piss off one of the few he had.

Living a double-life made it difficult to keep in contact with people. It was one of the few regrets that he had.

Michael's head re-appeared from his locker, with a wide smile displayed over his face. "Hey Gavin, come over here for a second."

Gavin cautiously made his way over, not quite trusting Michael, having learnt his lesson a long time beforehand. Trusting Michael did not work out.

"What," he asked slowly, as Michael stared at him with an incredibly serious face, his previous mirth forgotten, and he held out his hands, which where clasped together. He opened them, cupping his hands, to reveal a small black box which, when he opened it a moment later, revealed a sparkling diamond ring.

Gavin raised his fist to his mouth and bit into it, supressing a squeal of shock and delight. "Oh, Michael! I don't know what to say! This is…this is just such a special moment for me! Yes, of course, yes!"

Michael stared at him for a moment, his brow furrowed in confusion. "What are you talking about? This is for Lindsay! I'm going to propose to her next week. It's our anniversary and I'm taking her out to the same place we went for our first date."

Gavin sighed, filling up with disappointment and shook his head. "So, what, Cluckin' Bell? Totes romantic, man."

Michael just laughed, shutting the box with a _snap _and swiftly pocketing it. "Whatever man, I just can't wait to see her face. We've been going out a long time, I just think it's time to take the next step , y'know? So…anyway, if she does say yes…would you be interested in being my Best Man?

Gavin paused for a moment as he digested Michael's words, before shaking his head slowly. "Wait 'til she says 'yes' first before asking me that. Don't want to jinx it."

Michael glanced at him and then nodded, shrugging slightly. "I guess you're right. I'll let you know how it goes, anyway, it's goi-"

His voice was cut off as Gavin's phone suddenly started ringing, Ricky Gervais' animal noises echoing out through the locker room. Gav gave an apologetic shrug and took out the phone, answering the call and raising it to his ear.

"It's me. We've got a situation down here in Central. Somebody's killed Kerbal Gunnerz."

Gavin paused, staring at his phone for a second before raising it once more. "Sorry man, going to have to ask you to repeat that."

There was a moment's pause, and that's when Gavin _really _started to get worried. "Somebody's killed Kerbal, Vav. Apparently he was taken out while off duty, not even suited up or anything. Sniped while crossing the road. J-Roll's on the scene, he rang me a moment ago. The body's been taken up to the Harrison Memorial Hospital, I'm en route as we speak. Get your ass over there, right now!

Gavin nodded, shaking his head. "Got it, I'll be there in fifteen. Don't get the party started without me."

"You got it."

Gavin ended the call and turned to Michael, his face serious. "Sorry man, have to leave. Bit of a…family emergency, I guess you could say."

"I didn't know you had any family in Achievement City? I thought they were all back over in England?!" Michael shouted to Gavin's retreating form, but he received no reply. He shook his head slowly, before turning back to his locker.

'_Well that was weird,'_ he thought, then dismissed it, already turning his mind back to the ring in his pocket. After all, it was Gavin. Weird was his middle name.

Gavin quickly ran into the nearest bathroom in the hospital, sighing in relief as he discovered that it was unoccupied, not totally surprising given how late it was. He strode into the nearest cubicle, slamming the door behind him, already pulling off the t-shirt that he had put on only minutes beforehand, revealing a flash of red, white and blue underneath.

Moments later, a different man emerged from the bathroom, clad in a blue unitard with red boots and gloves, and the Union Jack emblazoned on his chest. He glanced around for a moment, before shrugging and opening the nearest window, casually vaulting out of it and landing nimbly on the ground two stories below. He stood it, dusting himself off, before disappearing into the night.

In the distance, police sirens wailed.

* * *

The man observed the crowd before him, within the confines of the hospital. At the moment, they hadn't noticed him, but that would soon change. He remembered how the city was a long time ago, when citizens couldn't leave their houses without the fear of getting mugged, or beaten up, or raped. Then X-Ray and Vav had appeared on the scene, out of nowhere, cracking down on the gangs, going further than the police were allowed or inclined to go.

After a few months, the various gangs that had plagued Achievement City: the Blazes, the Creepers, the Skeletons, the Ghasts, the Zombies, the Spiders and all the rest had been all but destroyed, with only a few small operations left doing business within the city, and these were quickly shut down by the police. The Endermen, originally one of the most ruthless and feared gangs within Achievement City, had been so beaten down that they formed a charity organisation, the Friendermen, to help prevent urban youths from turning to gangs. X-Ray and Vav had saved the city, and other heroes began to turn up out of the blue, revelling in the newfound fame that putting on a mask and cape would grant you.

Kerbal Gunnerz had been one of these "heroes", appearing on the scene long after the major gangs had been broken down, but, still, he did help out in the greater scheme of things. He put quite a few hardened criminals behind bars that might have otherwise been free to commit other crimes in Achievement City.

He had caused quite a stir in the city when he had first appeared, his features hidden behind a black domino mask, his suit jet black with his yellow crosshair insignia emblazoned across his chest, the black cape draped over his shoulders, his assault rifle strapped over his back. His hardcore vigilantism, along with the bodies he often left in his wake, had been received with disapproving words from many local politicians, but the support of the people and the police towards these heroes kept him from receiving a murder charge, as the government quickly brought in a way to both control and legitimise these vigilantes, granting them "Special Operative" status within the local police force.

X-Ray and Vav, however, were never forced to take place in this governmental policy, nor, indeed, where they ever asked to. The government were just as much in awe of those two heroes as the general populace, and were keen to avoid angering them. After all, they had eradicated some of the most powerful and well established gangs within the country, disrupting organised crime throughout the world as drug barons suddenly lost customers, local addicts lost suppliers, and crime in general came to a halt not just in Achievement City, but in much of the surrounding area.

And this all happened within a few _weeks__! _No, the government weren't going to try and mess with X-Ray and Vav anytime soon. Not until they actually thought they stood a chance against them. And hell, no one even knew who the two guys really were!

The man shook his head, bringing his thoughts back to the present, and moved forward, feeling the crowd part before him as he strode up to the policeman holding back the tide of reporters and cameramen, tiredly, and falsely, insisting that there was nothing to see here. The cop on duty, already faced with the strenuous task of keeping the crowd back, blanched in shock as the man strode up to him and motioned for the cop to let him through.

"Oh, it's you!" the cop exclaimed, grinning uneasily. "We've been waiting for you. He's in the mortuary, with the FBI agent."

"Thanks. Keep up the good work, officer." the man asked, barely glancing at the policeman as he walked by him, throwing open the doors of the mortuary and immediately came face to face with another man in a unitard, this one green, with a pair of black gloves, boots and briefs, along with a flowing black cape completing the look that screamed "Superhero". Or Cosplayer. Or Extreme Wardrobe Malfunction.

This time, however, the look was slightly offset by the pair of glasses that sat on the man's nose. Not exactly standard attire for your run-of-the-mill superhero. But then again, X-Ray had never been described as run-of-the-mill.

"'Bought time you got here, Vav. Was starting to think we'd have to start this without you."

Vav just nodded to his teammate, frowning slightly. "You wouldn't do that, X-Ray. After all, I _am _the brains of this operation."

His partner chuckled, shaking his head slowly. "Oh yeah, how could I forget? Where would we be without the genius of Vav, the World's Greatest Fucking Detective?"

A slight cough echoed from the far side of the room, and Vav smiled as he saw another familiar face.

"J-Roll!" he exclaimed. "Good to see you, man. How's the Bureau since we last met? Still…investigating things?" he finished lamely, floundering slightly.

The man sighed and brushed some imaginary dirt off the left shoulder of his suit, then adjusted his tie. "For the last time, it's Federal Agent Joel Heyman. You guys can concoct whatever made-up names you want for yourselves, but keep me out of it. I have work to do, which is why I called you two in. Now are you going to help, or not?"

"It's ok, it's ok, we're here to help," X-Ray said, holding his hands out reassuringly while mouthing _"Testy"_ to Vav. "What are we looking at here?"

Joel pulled back the sheet that had been placed over the body with a flourish, and Vav was barely able to suppress his flinch. It was, indeed, the body of Kerbal Gunnerz. He might not be wearing his suit, and his face was no longer obscured by his mask, but Kerbal Gunnerz never sought to maintain a secret identity, unlike X-Ray and Vav, and preferred to revel in his fame as a superhero. His face had been splashed across dozens of magazine covers, and it was that same face that was staring back at them.

"Son of a bitch," Vav murmured, sighing heavily, glancing over at X-Ray. "I can't believe it's really him."

X-Ray nodded, and motioned for Vav and Joel to stand back. He blinked a few times, and his iris and pupil began to glow red, slowly fragmenting and diffusing into the whites of his eyes, until it appeared as though his eyes contained red swirls. Vav stared at him, unsurprised, having seen X-Ray using his powers hundreds of times before, and waited until X-Ray finally spoke up, moments later.

"The bullet almost penetrated fully, but it hit one of his ribs on impact, shattering it, and that appears to have slowed it done considerably." He frowned and began to circle the table slowly, a look of intense concentration written across his face. "Wait…there's something written on the bullet."

Agent Heyman started from the corner of the of the room, and walked towards the corpse, curiosity written all over his face. "What does it say? Do you need the coroner to remove it?"

X-Ray twitched, his hand motioning for the FBI agent to back away. "No…" he growled. "The markings are incredibly fine. It's likely that the removal of the bullet will damage them or even erase them completely. I've got it!"

He stood back, shaking slightly, his eyes closed, and when he opened them and turned to look at Vav and Agent Heyman they had resumed their normal look. "Your light's gone out," he murmured, his eyes unfocusing and refocusing rapidly, as he regained his demeanor, his temporary drained state fading away.

A silence fell between the three men, before Agent Heyman tentatively asked: "So what does it mean?"

X-Ray and Vav exchanged a knowing look. "It means that we need more information," Vav murmured slowly, his eyes flicking back to the corpse.

X-Ray nodded back to him, his face lighting up with a rare, and not entirely benevolent, smile. "It's time to visit Denecour."


	2. Chapter 2: Making the Canary Sing

**(A/N) Hey guys, sorry that this is going up a bit late, was working late last night and just didn't have time to make the necessary edits before putting this up. I hope you'll all enjoy this, I had a great time writing it. Our next update will go up on Thursday the 18****th**** of July, and from then on the updates will occur weekly on Thursdays, so keep an eye out for them!**

**For those interested in applying for our sequel to Phase One: Genesis, we'll be closing our forum for applications in a week, so if you're interested please hurry up and apply. This will be the last warning you'll get!**

**As before, enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Two – Making the Canary Sing**

**Ray Narvaez Jr / X-Ray**

**Written by NicKenny**

* * *

"_Great occasions do not make heroes or cowards; they simply unveil them to the eyes of men. Silently and imperceptibly, as we wake or sleep, we grow strong or weak; and at last some crisis shows what we have become."_ - Brooke Foss Westcott

* * *

X-Ray and Vav flew through the city's streets on the back of their twin motorcycles, X-Ray's a dark green, Vav's a royal blue, negotiating their way through the traffic with confidence and ease. Their route took them from the more affluent areas of Achievement City to the parts that had once essentially been slums, back when the various gangs ran the city, but now were on their way to recovery. Nevertheless, these areas were still the homes of the poor, the addicted, and most of what was left of the criminal element after X-Ray and Vav's campaign against crime.

Not exactly prime real estate.

They slowed to a stop as they reached their destination: a rather dilapidated apartment block, poorly lit, no doubt the home of former criminals, junkies and down on their luck tax collectors, almost identical to all of the others that surrounded it, but for one thing:

Denecour lived here.

The heroes left their bikes behind them without a second thought. Everyone in this city knew who they belonged to, and no one would be stupid, brave or suicidal, enough to steal them. Not after the last guy who had tried to do that ended up hanging upside down from the tallest tree in the city park, stark naked.

"Do you remember what we originally planned to travel in, back in the day?" X-Ray asked Vav, a slight hint of amusement in his voice.

His partner nodded, his brow slightly furrowed as he sought to remember. "You wanted a…pogo-stick, right? And I was going to go around in a wheelchair with a filing cabinet on the back."

The duo paused, lost in their memories of the past, until Vav suddenly shook his head and glanced at X-Ray. "We were fucking idiots."

"What do you mean, _were_?"

They climbed up the stairs at the side of the building, nodding to the handful of people leaving their apartments for the night, their lives undisturbed by the recent murder. When they reached the door of Denecour's apartment, the heroes stopped, and X-Ray motioned for Vav to knock.

After a moment's hesitation, Vav quickly rapped on the door with his knuckles, withdrawing his hand with a sudden gasp.

"Are you ok?" X-Ray asked guardedly, as his partner raised his hand to him mouth and bit down on it in order to prevent himself from screaming.

Vav looked over at him and removed his hand, hissing, "I think I just stabbed myself with a splinter. Bastard should get a new door."

X-Ray stared at him in shock. "Not like you to swear. You alright? You've been a bit off today."

The other hero sighed and looked away. "Kerbal Gunnerz is dead, X-Ray. He might have been a bit of an ass at times, but he was a good guy. I don't like it when people die. That's why we do what we do, isn't it? We try to protect people."

"We do protect people. How many lives have we saved over the last few years?"

Vav just shook his head and continued to avoid X-Ray's gaze. "Tell that to Kerbal Gunnerz."

Anything more to be said was interrupted by the door in front of them opening, revealing a pair of suspicious, if not downright hostile eyes, partially hidden behind a dishevelled brown fringe. Denecour was a small man, thin and weedy, but his eyes displayed the intelligence that dwelt within. His mouth was open, framing the words of what would no doubt be a rather impolite dismissal, when he suddenly realised who his visitors where, and he froze, for the briefest moment, in shock, before turning and making to flee.

Before he was even able to take a step, X-Ray's eyes glowed a vivid red as he fired an optic blast at the smaller man, sending Denecour flying into the wall at the far side of the room, which he hit with a dull _thud, _falling onto the floor a second later.

The pair strode into the apartment, glancing around them as they looked for any potential threats. Denecour normally worked alone, but it paid to be careful in their line of work. Kerbal Gunnerz had proved that.

Denecour groaned as Vav picked him up off the floor and lifted him into the air. "What the fuck are you guys doing here? How did you find me?"

Vav just laughed and glanced over at X-Ray. "He wonders how we found him. How do you think we found you? The power bills the city charges you are through the roof! Did you really think you could run your operation here without us noticing?"

He dropped Denecour to the floor, who landed in a heap and slowly picked himself up, staring daggers at the two heroes. "What do you want?" he spat out, glaring at them.

X-Ray shrugged, smiling slightly. "Well, we're definitely not interested in taking you in. Although, we could, you know? Illegal hacking, substance abuse, possible drug running by the amount of weed you've got in the next room."

When Denecour started, glancing at the wall next to him, as though it had suddenly turned to glass and revealed all of its secrets to the heroes, causing X-Ray to laugh. "Come on, you know I can see through walls. Did you really think you could keep any secrets from us?"

Denecour's shoulders sagged, and he ran a hand through his dishevelled hair. "Fine, you win. Why are you here?"

He walked over to a threadbare sofa, and flopped down onto it, taking a glass bottle off the adjacent table and taking a swig of whatever it contained, sighing as he did so. Vav glanced at X-Ray, who gave a half shrug, and turned back to Denecour.

"You know why we're here, Denecour. We want to know who killed Kerbal Gunnerz."

The man took another swig, shaking his head slowly. "Terrible business right there, kid could have achieved so much. But what makes you think I'd know anything about it?"

X-Ray laughed. "Because you know everything that goes on in Achievement City. That's the only reason that we allow you to continue with your…business. That's the only reason why we haven't hauled your ass up before a judge after all this time. So are you going to cooperate, or are we going to have to convince you to?"

Next to him, Vav cracked his knuckles, grinning maniacally, and Denecour swallowed nervously, setting the bottle back onto the table. "All I know is the bare details, once the Feds took over, all my info went dry. I don't have any sources within the FBI."

The heroes glanced at each other. "Well, what_ do_ you know?" X-Ray asked, guardedly, his right hand sneaking into his pocket, making sure that the plastic package Agent Heyman had given him was still there.

"I know the kid was wasted crossing the street, taken out by a sniper up high on the next building. I know the sniper didn't leave any traces, no DNA, no fingerprints, no cigarette butts, nothing. Even took his shell casings with him. That means he's a professional, but I could list out about four dozen guys who fit that description, just living in the city."

X-Ray produced the package with a flourish, noticing Denecour's eyes widen as he focused on the item within the plastic. "Is that what I think it is?" Denecour asked slowly, glancing back up at X-Ray.

He nodded, wondering what else Denecour thought it could be. It was a bullet, after all, and only one was relevant to their current conversation. "Yes," he replied, for clarification purposes. "This is the bullet they pulled out of Kerbal Gunnerz."

Denecour got to his feet and walked up to X-Ray, his hand outstretched. "May I?" he asked, slightly hesitant. X-Ray nodded, and handed the package over, watching Denecour closely as the other man held the package up to the light, his eyes scrutinizing the bullet within.

After a brief moment, he sighed. "I assume I can't take this out, right? Police property, can't compromise evidence, yadda yadda yadda?"

When X-Ray nodded he just sighed again, and handed it back to him. "I noticed some faded etchings on its surface, I suppose they were probably all but erased after the coroner removed it from the body. Any chance you guys know what it said?"

"Your light's gone out," Vav replied, before X-Ray could speak. He glared at his partner for giving up the information, but Denecour didn't notice the exchange between the two, too focused on the message previously inscribed on the bullet.

After a moment, he snapped his fingers and glanced up at the heroes. "I've got it!" he exclaimed, beaming from ear to ear. "I've heard about this guy, uses the same calibre bullets as the one we have here, etches them very finely to inform his opponents of his next target, rumoured to never miss a shot. Lot of rumours centred on him, some say he used to be a top moto-cross racer before getting involved with a drug cartel and forced to serve as hired muscle, becoming a hitman after it collapsed. Others say he serves a couple of years in the Marines, before becoming a hired mercenary in the Middle East. I thought he was only a legend, really, although Interpol and the CIA have him on their Most Wanted lists."

The duo glanced at each other once more, and spoke the same question at the same time. "Who is he?"

Denecour shrugged apologetically. "I don't know what his name is, no one does. According to the guys that told me about him, he goes by the name of Bullet-Beard."

"Bullet-Beard?" Vav asked sceptically. "What kind of name is that?"

Denecour shrugged once more. "Coming from two guys called X-Ray and Vav, I find that a bit ironic."

X-Ray left them to their argument, leaning against the far wall, deep in thought. Why would an international assassin kill a superhero? Why would he come all this way to make so dangerous a hit?

Why do assassins do anything?

"For money," he murmured to himself, and then his mind flicked over to all of the possible enemies Kerbal Gunnerz had made over the years, and which of them had the means to hire an assassin to take him out. Not all that many, to be honest. Most of the major players in Achievement City had already been taken out by X-Ray and Vav by the time Kerbal Gunnerz had arrived on the scene. There couldn't be more than one or two guys with the sort of cash and hatred to have hired this…assassin.

"Vav," he suddenly said, pushing off from the wall. "We need to call J-Roll, see if he can get us access to anyone who could have put the hit on Kerbal Gunnerz."

Vav nodded, and turned away from Denecour, who followed them to his front door, hesitantly hovering over their shoulders, making sure they didn't damage anything on their way out, as they were wont to do. X-Ray turned to thank him, somewhat sarcastically, for his time, when Denecour spoke up.

"That message, 'Your light's gone out'…that couldn't be a threat against Lamp, could it?"

X-Ray paused, a sudden terror filling his bones, as he ran the thought through his mind. Lamp was a fellow hero, and a long-time partner of Kerbal Gunnerz, with the ability to turn invisible at will. Denecour had said that Bullet-Beard's bullets always were etched with a hint towards his next target.

"Fuck," X-Ray murmured, sweat suddenly appearing on his brow. "We need to warn him, get the Feds to protect him, anything!"

At that moment, his phone suddenly went off, filling the air with air with the Pokémon theme song. He pulled the phone of his pocket, flipping it open and raising it to his ear. "What is it?" he asked, although the sense of dread that was currently filling him indicated that he already knew exactly who was ringing him and why.

"It's me," Agent Heyman replied over the phone, his voice tense and uneasy. "We've got a situation, X-Ray."

X-Ray sighed, glancing at Vav and Denecour with a grim expression on his face. "Let me guess, it's Lamp, isn't it?"

He could feel J-Roll nod, even though he had no real way of knowing this. "Yeah, it's Lamp, X-ray," he paused for a moment, swallowing, not quite sure of how to break the bad news.

"He's dead."


	3. Chapter 3: Killing Floor

**(A/N) Hey everyone, it's time for our next X-Ray and Vav chapter, up on time, as promised! From now on we'll be having weekly updates, so put a note down in your calendars for every Thursday for the foreseeable future. It's going to be an X-Ray and Vav night. Or morning. Or whatever. Damn timezones…**

**Of course, as I'm sure you're all aware of, the very first episode of RWBY has just gone up, so, if you're more fortunate then myself and happen to be a sponsor on the Roosterteeth website, I'm going to assume you've already checked it out. For those that are like me, well, we only have to wait a little while longer. And I know it'll be worth it.**

**As always, from The Freelancer Collaboration, enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Three – Killing Floor **

**Jack Pattillo / Bullet-Beard**

**Written by Jerem6401**

* * *

_"They say of a sniper's bullet that it if you hear it, then you are safe, because it will already have passed safely by. It is the ones that you don't hear that do for you" _― Sohni

* * *

The smell of the gunpowder was still fresh in his nose. A high-pitched whine from the crack of the .308 caliber round smashing through the sound barrier still ringing in his ears. There was nothing like that sensation to him. The knowledge that a bullet had just left his weapon, ripped through the air in front of him, and buried itself in a target. It's what he did best. That and keep his beard trimmed nicely at chest level. Hey… he wasn't called Bullet-Beard for nothing.

He pulled his trench-coat over his shoulders, and dipped his hat down over his face as another police cruiser tore by, then calmly pulled out a cigarette and gently lifted a match to it. He took a relaxing puff, before sighing into the sky before him and slumped back against the wall as he reached into his pocket. He could feel the end of his rifle bump against his wrist, since it was still firmly strapped across his back, making an interesting dent in the rear of his jacket. Pulling out his phone, he smashed in a few of the numbers, before casually lifted it to his ear, like he was just another pedestrian on the street.

"Well?" a voice asked abruptly from the other end after a few rings. No 'hello's, no 'how are you's. Just straight to the point.

"Kerbal Gunnerz won't be a problem anymore," Bullet-Beard spoke quietly and confidently.

"You're sure he's dead?" the man asked.

The bearded man smirked and slightly lifted the brim of his hat. "Have I ever missed before?" he asked.

There was a silence, before the man chimed in once again. "Excellent work, matie. You've done well to repay your debt."

Bullet-Beard pulled the cigarette away from his mouth and flicked it off into the distance. "I'll report back when the next target is down. All this activity… he won't be able to pass up the chance to make an appearance… well… you know what I mean."

The man snickered a few times, is his extremely low pitched voice. "Another scurvy-dog will hit the deck tonight, Bullet-Beard. Do not disappoint me."

Bullet-Beard nodded and hit the end button. He shoved his phone back into his pocket, sighing while he did. It was dirty work, what he was doing… but he had no choice. He closed his eyes and thought back to a time before his career as an assassin. When he wasn't Bullet-Beard… he was just Jack Pattillo. He was a gun-nut. It didn't matter what the firearm was, how powerful it was, or how deadly it was. If it could fire a bullet, Jack could use it. His obsession with guns was only matched by his love of motocross, and it was only after an injury in a local tournament had ended his amateur career that he gave up aspirations of turning pro, but guns...guns he could use. However, more firearms meant more money, and working a simple 9 to 5 wasn't going to cut it. Bullet looked down at the ground, seeing a newspaper soaking in a rain puddle. He knelt down and picked it up, shaking some of the water from it. Front page news.

"Heisty-Beardo still at large." Bullet smirked and dropped it to the ground again. Heisty-Beardo. That was the name he took when he dropped into crime. It started small, but eventually grew into full bank robberies, involving drills and thermite to get the goods. However, one of those jobs had landed Jack in the back of a swat truck, tied up and helpless on his way to prison. That's when the massive explosion occurred, which threw the swat truck onto its side. The convoy to the prison had been intercepted.

Someone wanted Jack for themselves.

When the doors to the truck opened, there he was. Almost seven feet tall, eyepatch, thin mustache, well-kept pinstripe suit. What was his angle? Booty or Wall Street? Didn't really matter. All that mattered was Jack had a debt to repay for being freed… and this is how he needed to repay it. The clock-tower rang out as it hit midnight. It was time to make his way back to the crime-scene. Bullet was sure his next target would be there waiting for him.

As he made his way up the fire escape to the rooftops, he envisioned the man he was tasked to kill. He called himself "Lamp." Probably because he has the ability to switch on and off his invisibility powers… or because he wears a lampshade over his head. He tugs on that damn pull-string every time he goes invisible… like it's necessary.

Lamp used to be a villain… or he guessed what the people of Achievement City would call a 'villain.' He was mostly a prankster, who just liked to give X-Ray and Vav a hard time. Now he was trying to jump into the superhero business. That wasn't if Bullet's boss had anything to say about it. He made my way to the rooftop, looking down over the street still filled with flashing red and blue lights. Kerbal's body had long since been taken away, but people were still looking for any evidence… not that they would find anything. It was the chance to be a hero, a detective who figures out the crime.

Perfect for Lamp.

Bullet pulled out his sniper rifle and started to attach the biped, not looked away from the street while he did. He sat cross-legged, patiently waiting for any signs of the target. He started to fasten on the scope, making sure he had locked it into an exact position. Bullet didn't need to sight in his rifles anymore. He knew just from the appearance of the scope that it was going to be dead accurate.

Suddenly he saw something, a flicker off in the distance within the crowd of police officers. He dropped to my stomach and rested the biped on the rooftop. Bullet pressed the stock into his shoulder as he peered down the scope, getting a closer view of the situation at hand. There was nothing but the officers, chatting away and every now and again looking at the ground for clues. Then it happened again, a flicker of another figure jumped across Bullet's scope. It was only there for a moment, before it disappeared again.

The sightings were few and extremely fast, it would be a tough shot… for anyone besides Bullet-Beard. Bullet held his breath as his rifle steadied. He watched a puddle on the concrete very carefully, taking in everything about it. Suddenly a small ripple jumped across it, barely noticeable to anyone else. Bullet smirked and rested his finger on the trigger.

"You just got lamped," he said quietly. Bullet pulled the trigger, firing the .308 shell out of his rifle. It tore through the air and into the crowd of officers. It appeared to not hit anything, until a shower of blood erupted from the air between the officers. A man wearing a lampshade on his head took form as the bullet stopped in its tracks. Lamp fell to the ground and splashed into one of the puddles. His lampshade tumbled off of his head and rested silently on the ground. The officers all took cover, while others ran to Lamp's side to try and assist.

Bullet sighed and pushed himself to his knees. He looked down at another rush in front of him, all too familiar from his last encounter with Kerbal Gunnerz. This was only the start. He was sure that it was only a matter of time before X-Ray and Vav found their way onto his list.

And they would die, just like every other person that had made their way, somehow or other, onto his hit-list.


	4. Chapter 4: The Next Stage

**(A/N) Hey guys, it's time for the latest update in the adventures of our favourite dynamic duo, (and no, not Batman and Robin), X-Ray and Vav! I assume that if you're reading this fic, you're probably a superhero fan, so ComicCon last weekend should have had a few moments that left you excited. If you hadn't heard before, the Man Of Steel sequel is going to be a Batman vs Superman film, and Avengers 2 now has a title. Avengers: Age of Ultron.**

**If not's not enough to excite you, then I'm sure the latest RWBY episode, which has just gone up on the Roosterteeth website is! Head on over there and check it out!**

**As always, enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Four – The Next Stage**

**Ray Narvaez Jr / X-Ray & Dr Gavin Free / Vav**

**Written by LanaLlama**

* * *

_"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end."_– Gilda Radner

* * *

The first order of business was finding out what had happened. "Where are you?" With a hand over the receiver he mouthed to the other two what Agent Heyman had told him. Another hero was dead, and they didn't have long to find out who was going to be shot next.

"He didn't get far from his apartment. We're down by Glack Avenue, one of the side ro-"

"I know the place." The duo had been down there before and X-Ray didn't need to waste time with directions. "We'll be there as soon as we can." He nodded towards the door, indicating to Vav that they needed to leave. They made their way quickly through the corridors, and back into the open air. "Was it another sniping?" the young man threw his leg over the bike while Vav did the same beside him.

A sigh could be heard on the other end of the line and Vav's eyes felt on the side of his face. "Yeah, man. We think it's the same guy that got Kerbal Gunnerz." X-Ray could almost see the older agent rubbing his face in exhaustion.

"It is, he's known as Bullet Beard, likes to let us know who he's gonna shoot next." What the two heroes had just discovered was relayed to J-Roll quickly. "We're on our way now; I'll tell you what I can when we get there." The phone was snapped shut with a finality which prompted X-Ray and Vav to rev the engines of their bikes, and speed off into the heart of Achievement city. They were lucky with traffic; people knew to stay out of their way when they seemed to be in a hurry. Being a super-hero had its perks, that was for sure.

Vav seemed particularly quiet as they drove side by side. He normally loved being able to rush down the streets at frightening speeds and turn corners that were stupidly sharp and even pull a wheelie if the road was clear. That charm was missing today and X-Ray was pretty sure he knew what it was that had made such a fun loving guy so sombre. There are two people missing from the world because they wanted to do some good, because they wanted to be like X-Ray and Vav, and he was quite sure the Brit thought that there must have been some way to save them, to stop this Bullet Beard before they even knew what was happening.

X-Ray glanced at his friend, unfamiliar with the look on his face, the way his eyes narrowed in a new form of determination. Maybe he was realizing that they couldn't save everyone in the city, or maybe he just wanted to stop this Bullet Beard; whatever it was that was going on in his companions head, X-Ray knew that today had changed his friend. Whether it was for the better or not remained to be seen.

"Hey, man." X-Ray threw a glance over to Vav and spoke with a soft voice that could barely be heard over the wind whipping past them. The Brit had somehow heard him any way, and nodded his head in an acknowledgement. "Are you going to be okay?" To be honest, X-Ray wasn't all that sure he would be, but his friend and team-mate came first.

"Ask me later." Was the oddly grim response that he got with a sigh wrapping around the words.

"This isn't just going to go away Vav." The young man frowned, eyes flickering between the road before him, and his partner, barely able to hear himself over the roar of the motors and the wind that slapped at his face. Of course they would take off without their helmets; they were a pair of idiots prancing around in leotards. Though, they were idiots that did the right thing and saved Achievement City more than once.

"Thanks for telling me what I already know, you tosspot!"

"Easy man, no need to go throwing around words like that." For now, joking like they always did would have to be a distraction. "They could hurt someone, you know?"

"Let's just go see lamp." He responded, wrist twitching so that he could speed his bike up and stretch the speed limits. X-Ray mimicked him.

* * *

Around them there was just…noise. Things were loud and confusing and both of the heroes were more than lost when they arrived at the location of the murder. Crowds and reporters pressed in an attempt to see the body. Oh the love humans have for drama. They flocked to it like sheep being chased by a dog.

There was a hold up, apparently they weren't allowed on the scene, and Vav was arguing, red faced, with the cop that wouldn't let them past the tape. X-Ray on the other hand, he sighed, texted J-Roll and waited. Vav needed to blow off some steam, and it was best to do so while he could; who knows where Bullet Beard was going to appear next.

"Hey, no, they're with me." The flapping hands and loud voice announced the arrival of their favourite agent. His hair stood tall, just like always, as though it had been hit with electricity. A smug look from Vav was aimed at the cop and the two ducked under the tape as J-Roll waved them over.

Things were much quieter on the other side of the tape, less cops, less people, more space. It made things a lot easier for X-Ray and Vav to do their work.

"Heyman!" A voice snapped behind them, just as they reached the body, which had Vav turning his head and gagging slightly. X-Ray elected to comfort his friend and give him a small pat on the back before turning to see who was stopping them.

"Oh, Burns. Hey man, you need something?" was J-Roll's response, hand gliding through his hair. Striding towards them was their friend's partner, Agent Burns. His eyes were hidden by tinted black glasses, as though he was scared to reveal secrets to the two heroes, which made X-Ray want to snort with laughter. People always forgot what his power was, despite it being his superhero name. A quick glance from the younger man and he knew that the agent was tired and angry.

"I've told you so many times! You don't need to bring these two with you to every crime scene." Vav twitched beside X-Ray. "It's not their job, it's yours and I don't need you slacking off every chance you get."

"If you want to stop these murders," J-Roll's finger pointed at his partner, "just like I do, then you'll let these two tell us what they know at least. At least they have a name, which is more than you do." The black haired agent turned his back on Agent Burns as a way of announcing that the conversation was over.

"You mentioned something about a guy called Bullet Beard on the phone?" Moments later, spent staring at the dead body, J-Roll turned to X-Ray and asked the important question.

"We went to see Denecour." Vav supplied the brief explanation in a mumble.

"We don't know much," X-Ray admitted. "But there's an assassin, by the name of Bullet Beard, as you've heard. Damn great sniper, and he likes to let you guys know his next target by carving clues into his bull-"

"_Shit._That's what 'Your light's gone out' meant." Vav nodded, seeming to now be leaving his reclusive state of mind in a moment of determination.

"You should do your thing X-Ray." The Brit nodded towards the body, doing his best not to catch sight of the blood painting the street.

The very air about them seemed wrong, in a way that meant it was both tense and excited and fearful all at once. There was a haste about it, yet everything seemed in slow motion. X-Ray moved forward, kneeling next to the form of Lamp, eyes still open and staring glassily at the sky, reflecting the very grey that they felt washing over them.

The trio was silent, with Agent Burns lurking behind them, torn between his irritation and his curiosity as X-Ray concentrated, searching for the bullet that he knew could just save someone's life, ironically. He blinked once, longer than normal, before opening his eyes in an attempt to read the clue they so desperately needed.

The one out of place thing in the body was obvious; the bullet stuck out, as did the fingerprint set on it so clearly that no professional could have done it; there was no mistake that they were meant to find this bullet, and the print left on it.

"Well…?" Vav interrupted the musings of X-Ray, who jumped slightly at the sound which removed him from his small trance like state. The world shifted about him, and after a moments blinking, everything was normal again.

"There's a finger print." Was all he could say, brows furrowed and doubting what he saw.

"It must be his next targets." Vav supplied from beside J-Roll who had nodded in agreement. The curly haired, crisply dressed Agent that they had all forgotten about spoke up from just behind Vav, making him jump, just as his partner had done a second ago.

"We're going to need someone to get this bullet out real carefully." A toothpick now sat in the corner of his mouth, waggling with every word. "I'll find someone." Agent Burns turned on his heel and left them alone once more.

They were all suddenly quite aware of just how important it was that it was done perfectly and the finger print wasn't smudged or tampered with. One wrong move could mess it up, and they would find out, far too late, just who was going to be shot next.

"I don't like this Vav." X-Ray shook his head as he addressed his partner, eyes sincere. He just couldn't quite get why someone was working like this to undo everything that they had worked for. It seemed that someone wasn't a fan of superheroes.

"Whoever this Bullet Beard is, we're going to get him" J-Roll lay a hand on each of their shoulders. They were young, he was aware of that; they would need more comfort than the more seasoned agent.

"And what if it doesn't stop at him?" Vav seemed to get how "villains" worked. They had a network; so many people did the dirty work for one guy who had all the money and a vendetta or dead parents. "We don't know who's doing what, all we have is a dumb name, and a tiny chance to save his next victim." The guy ended with a pout.

"The world won't always be fair, and you two can't always win. I think you've just learned that." The two nodded, X-Ray slumped and fell back against a wall, feeling the weight of loss on his shoulders.

* * *

It was ten minutes later when Agent Burns finally managed to return with a blonde haired woman behind him who carried a small case of tools in her hand. She introduced herself as Kara Eberle, swept her hair into a messy ponytail and set to work. Apparently Agent Burns had already lectured her on the importance of getting the bullet out with the utmost delicacy, and she did so.

They were lucky really, the way the bullet had entered made a clear path, straight in, straight out. She just had to be sure there was nothing that could rub against the print as she worked. X-Ray moved forward to assist, kneeling beside her and letting her know exactly where the print was. She seemed impressed by how helpful he was, and within minutes she held the bullet between two of her gloved fingers.

There were sighs of relief from everyone around the body, and a small smile of satisfaction on Kara's lips. "Told you I could do it." Her slightly whiny voiced was aimed smugly at Agent Burns who held out a bag for her to drop the bullet into.

She took the bag straight from Agent Burns hands the moment it was sealed. "Let's go find out who you two need to save next." She shot a smile at the two superheroes and strutted off, heels clicking on the floor with each step she took.

They had to return to the nearest lab, which was luckily a five minute drive away. That explained how Agent Burns had returned so quickly. X-Ray and Vav tailed the sleek black car on their bikes, the journey silent with anticipation of what they were going to find out, the chance to catch their killer; it was all building up so fast.

It all felt like a dream as they entered past security, made their way through the labyrinth of offices and laboratories into the one that belonged to Kara. She worked with a precise speed and concentrated while the men were left, stood to the side, scuffing their shoes and staring at the pristine floor like naughty schoolboys. She gave them that presence while she worked, but the moment she was done, everything felt so much easier.

"We're lucky the print was so clear." Kara looked up from her screen and waved them over. "It belongs to the Mayor."

"That can't be right." Agent Burns frowned.

"Are you doubting me again?" Swiftly Kara fixed him with an irritated glare that could kill.

"She's right." J-Roll was peering at the screen closely, the glow of it lighting his features and briefly throwing a light on just how tired he was too. "We've got to save the mayor."


	5. Chapter 5: Saving the Day

**(A/N) Hey guys, time for the latest update in the adventures of X-Ray and Vav. Sorry that this is going up late, spent last night watching the Return of the King, Extended Edition, with my girlfriend last night, and damn, that movie is long! But also awesome, so it all worked out. :) Anyway, this chapter is brought to you by the fantastic Tall on the Inside, and this is their first chapter as part of The Freelancer Collaboration, so I hope you all enjoy this as much as I did, because Tall really did a great job here.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Five – Saving the Day**

**Ray Narvaez Jr / X-Ray**

**Written by Tall on the Inside**

* * *

"_The line between bravery and stupidity is so thin that you don't know you've crossed it until you're dead._" - Anon.

* * *

The weather that day was unusually humid; the Met Office had promised it would rain. The air had a sticky quality to it, and despite being outside, its taste was stale, and its scent tainted with the tangy aroma of sweat that only presents itself in a large gathering of people.

Ray could feel the sun on his back, and already his shirt was starting to stick to his shoulders. A slim brunette stood on a platform above the gathering, tapping a microphone. Beside her, an agitated Agent Heyman was talking into an earpiece. The woman stood in front of Ray scoffed and looked at her watch, clearly believing she had more important things to do than stand in front of the town hall for what the couple behind him were referring to as "an impromptu press conference".

Over the snippets of conversation that were carried back to him, he could hear a small child screaming, a businessman talk fast and fluently in a foreign language, presumably into his phone, and a group of teenagers deciding to "blow this joint" as they complained about the heat.

All in all, it was a nice day for an assassination.

Beside him, he could sense Gavin fidgeting. Glancing towards him, Ray asked, "Hey man, you okay?"

The Brit ran licked his lips and thrust his hands into his pockets before replying, "I just think it's a bit stupid, really. I mean, why would you risk your life just to make a speech? Even if it is about "fallen heroes" or whatever." Gavin scowled. "Minges me right off to see someone just disregard their safety like that."

Ray chuckled, and idly swung the carrier bag he'd shoved his costume into hurriedly before leaving. "Right. Because we don't blatantly disregard our safety on a regular basis."

Gavin's scowled deepened and he shoved his hands even further down his pockets. Ray expected to see them jut out of the bottom of his shorts. "Yeah but that's different," he whined. "We're nobodies. The mayor is the mayor."

"Wow, never would have worked that one out," Ray placed his free hand on his friend's shoulder, and patted it slightly. "Thank you for reminding me once again that you are the brains of this entire operation."

Shuffling slightly away from Ray, so as to get his arm off of him without moving his hands from his pockets (God, what was in those pockets that made them so desirable?), Gavin shook his head. "Ray," he muttered, "do you think any of these people voted for him because they thought he would risk his life with a speech like this? Do you think he would have stood a chance if they knew he was willing to throw it all away?"

Ray had to admit, the Mayor of Achievement City was not known for his tendency to make foolish decisions. In fact, had such a habit presented itself during the election period, it was unlikely he would have won. As it happened, his overwhelming generosity, dedication to the city, and award-winning moustache had been what secured him the job. He had always appeared passionate about the wellbeing of Achievement City's residents, and that passion had been exactly what the citizens thought they needed to protect them.

Of course, it hadn't been that passion that protected them. It had been heroes. Heroes like he and Gavin, who had rose to the challenge. Even from their earliest escapades, the Mayor had shown strong support for these heroes, with speeches and interviews and talk of statues in their honour.

With his admiration for those heroes, and his devotion to Achievement City, was it any wonder he would choose to risk his life, just in order to pay his respect to the fallen vigilantes that had saved his city?

It was as Ray was opening his mouth to vocalise this chain of thought that Gavin stated, "Kerbal Gunnerz is dead, Ray. Lamp is dead too. That's two of the cities "indestructible heroes" gone. This place'd be chaos if it lost its mayor." His hands were finally pulled from his pockets and folded across his chest. "People might start to worry how much longer X-Ray and Vav will be around for."

"Well, they shouldn't worry, 'cos X-Ray and Vav'll be around for a long time," Ray scoffed, trying to ignore the fact that Gavin was being so much more downcast than usual.

Gavin turned to face the other man, his gaze unfathomable. "Yeah, but how long is long?"

"I don't know, man, it's just fucking long." Ray shrugged. "We're big boys, Gavin, we can handle ourselves."

His partner looked down, his scoffed shoes kicking the ground. "We should probably split up," he finally stated, bringing his head back up. "We stand a better chance of finding Bullet Beard that way."

"But do we stand a better chance of fighting him?" Ray asked, pointing towards Gavin, who merely shook his head and chewed his tongue in response.

"Suit up in five," he stated. Ray was once again, slightly concerned by how serious the Brit was being, but then again, he supposed this was Serious Business. "Heyman's been up there long enough waiting for us."

After checking their watches were working in sync, the pair split. They had been asked by Agent Heyman to protect the Mayor, and they fully intended to do so. The plan was to infiltrate the crowd, allowing them to search for suspicious persons and to locate any area that could be used as a vantage point, before joining the Mayor onstage, in order to protect him throughout the speech.

This search revealed, to Ray at least, that not only did he know too many people in Achievement City, but the buildings facing the Town Hall were mainly residential; apartments, student accommodations and the like. Unfortunately, due to the fact that he did know too many people in Achievement City, he was stopped too frequently to be greeted by his acquaintances that he didn't get a chance to scope out the buildings behind and in line with the Hall, however due to past knowledge he was fairly certain it was mainly small, family-run businesses that had begun to flourish with the newfound lack of organised crime.

Ray was politely listening to the ramblings of someone he knew through something he did when the atmosphere in the crowd changed. Checking his watch and realising the time, he knew instantly what had happened, and glanced to the platform to validate his suspicions. Sure enough, there was Vav, clad in red, white and blue. It was with an expression of irritation that he spoke to Agent Heyman, and Ray was certain he knew exactly why he was displeased. After all, he could already feel how restless the crowd was growing.

He bid a hurried farewell to the bloke who had stopped him, and attempted to exit the crowd. This in itself was a task, due to the sheer amount of spectators there, and the amount of them who seemed to know him. There was a "Hi!" here and a "Hey Ray!" there, mixed in with the occasional "Watch it asshole!" but, despite this, he made it out of the crowd eventually. Then it was just the matter of getting changed.

Man, he was not looking forward to that. The costume was a bitch to put on and uncomfortable as hell in normal conditions; it was going to be sheer torture in this heat. He was starting to wish he'd just put it on underneath rather than shoving it into this stupid bag that had kept banging into people in the crowd. In hindsight, the bag wasn't his best idea; anyone could have caught a brief glance of what was inside, but it was just too fucking hot for him to do anything else. At least he'd taken precautions by using an opaque bag.

Walking with haste, and trying not to make eye contact with anyone, he made his way to the side of the town hall. From there, it was just a quick dart into the bathroom, luckily finding all the cubicles free, tearing off his clothes and forcing himself into the wrinkled, creased costume he'd brought, and switching his glasses.

Of course, he took care to make sure no one saw him, and those who did took no note of him. If there had been anyone in the bathroom, he would have probably been screwed, especially when he toppled over trying to get his boots on. The cape sat heavy on his shoulders, and his clothes were discarded on the floor. He decided to shove them back in the bag, and then just... leave the bag there.

Now several times hotter and stickier than he had been before, X-Ray exited the cubical, and decided that really, the only entrance he could possibly make now was to exit through the front doors of the Town Hall, straight onto the platform. He had no idea how Vav had made his entrance, but he hoped the Brit wouldn't think too badly of his.

He didn't meet any civil servants as he strolled through the carpeted corridors of the hall, presumably because they were all busy trying to talk the Mayor out of this speech. He wasn't met with a burst of cold air when he walked through the open doors, but rather a solid wall of humidity. The crowd, who had probably assumed it would be the Mayor who walked through those doors, had fallen silent, but almost immediately resumed conversation. X-Ray offered them a half-salute, half-wave before joining Vav and Agent Heyman, who both looked extremely hot and bothered.

"Where the bloody hell have you been?" Vav asked, as J-Roll began speaking into his earpiece again.

X-Ray held up his hands, as if in surrender. "Dude, I'm sorry! I ran into some issues."

"What kind of issues?" Heyman's eyes were narrowed. "Do I need to call this off right-"

"No," X-Ray shook his head. "Not those kind of issues, man. Just like... issues." Neither of the men he was talking to looked very impressed with his answer. Special Agent Heyman turned away from the pair of heroes in order to continue his conversation in a more private manner. X-Ray shuffled closer to Vav and asked, "So, you learn anything during our little scouting mission?"

"Nothing special. Those three buildings are apartment blocks, but the one in the middle appears to be due for refurbishment or something, because it's closed. Keep an eye on it."

"Gotcha," X-Ray nodded. "I didn't find anyone particularly dangerous in the crowd, you?"

Vav shook his head. "No."

X-Ray was about to point out that his partner sounded disappointed about the fact, when Agent Heyman turned to them and said, "Mayor's about to arrive guys. Be on the lookout for Bullet-Beard or any other potential threats."

The Mayor of Achievement City wasn't very tall. At most, he was about 5'5", but the moustache he sported made him appear taller. He had a commanding aura, which was probably helped by the moustache, and was somehow able to wear a suit and tie in the overwhelming heat. X-Ray admired that.

As Vav had suggested, he decided to keep an eye on the middle building. The Mayor approached the podium, and coughed to clear his throat. The crowd fell silent, and he began, in his wispy, charming voice, "Citizens of Achievement City, you are no doubt wondering why I've gathered you today."

X-Ray attempted to ignore his voice, instead focusing on the task ahead of him. His eyes ran up and down the building. The windows were shut. They all appeared vacant and dark. He thought he saw some movement on one of the higher levels, but it was from one of the windows of the first building, a curtain fluttering in the breeze-

_Wait a minute._

It took X-Ray a few moments to realise that there was no breeze, and instantly he felt like a fool. His eyes beginning to burn with the usual heat that his power required, he busted out the ability that earned him his name. The wall became a layer of plaster, then brick, then plaster, then something metallic. Long and narrow and pointed straight for the Mayor, with a handle clenched in strong, unfaltering hands, a finger on a trigger, waiting for just the right moment.

With a blink, Ray switched his gaze to the Mayor. The heat behind his eyes became unbearable. It was almost as though his pupils would burst and his irises melt. He placed a hand to his temple, letting a finger or two idly drape across the arms of his glasses in order to get a better shot, and then, bam! His eyes exploded with the echo of gunshots. The air was filled with screams; women, children and men alike raised their voices in panic.

"X-Ray, where was he?!" Vav shouted. X-Ray, who was slightly dizzy and disoriented from his optic blast, pointed towards the building.

"15th floor up, window on the end, I think," he started, rubbing the side of his head. Vav began running, Agent Heyman in tow. "Wait, guys!" he called, "Did I save the Mayor or what?!"

It took more than a few blinks for his vision to return to normal, by which time the screaming had not stopped, but someone was attempting to restore the crowd to silence through a microphone. From the way their voice didn't tremble, X-Ray assumed he had in fact blasted the Mayor out of the way, and just in time too. This assumption was proven correct when his gaze settled upon several suited men, all of whom were trying to calm down a fifty-something moustached man whose eyes were wide with shock and whose arm hung at a slightly awkward angle.

Shrugging it off, X-Ray told himself if was better going into hospital with a broken bone than with a dead Mayor, and he leapt of the platform, trying to catch up with J-Roll and Vav. The crowd parted for him like he was Moses or something, but he never caught up with the pair.

In fact, he didn't meet up with them until he entered the room on the end of the 15th floor up. The window was still open, the room was crackling with heat, a gun discarded on the floor, but no sign of the man who fired it.

"Where-?" he began, but was sharply cut off with a, "We don't know," from J-Roll, whose earpiece started buzzing after that. As he left the room, muttering, "Negative, sir, no signs of the perpetrator," Vav peaked out of the window. There was no doubt a clear view of the Town Hall from it.

"Did you see what he looked like?" the Brit asked, pulling back the curtain.

X-Ray shook his head. "Didn't get a chance to. He was about to shoot."

"It's a good thing you saw him when you did," Vav nodded, turning to face him. "Another second later and the Mayor would've been dead."

The pair studied the room intently, but found no evidence regarding Bullet-Beard's whereabouts. The room was practically untouched, and there was no way out other than the window and the door they'd come in through. To say the heroes were confused would be an understatement. However, it wasn't until they left the room, and a group of FBI agents dressed almost identically to Agent Heyman entered the room to conduct their own investigations that the hairs on the back of X-Ray's neck began to tingle, and a feeling of dread started to settle into his stomach.

He had no clue what was happening here, nor did he know why it was happening. He began to worry what the fuck he and Vav had gotten themselves into.


	6. Chapter 6: Attack of the Enderwolf

**(A/N) Hey guys, sorry that this is going up a few hours late. Just running behind on a lot of stuff at the moment, and am trying to catch up. Hopefully the Grifball: Running Rampant update will go up tonight, but there's a chance that you might have to wait until tomorrow morning for it. However, you all do have the latest RWBY episode to keep you going, and it was a pretty good one, in my opinion. If you haven't seen it yet, then what the hell have you been doing?! Get your ass over the Roosterteeth site, sit back, and enjoy.**

**Speaking of our Grifball fic, we're looking for a few more writers, so if you're up for taking part in a Grifball fic, head on over to our forum and apply, or just PM me and I'll give you the details that you'll need. Applications are open til the end of the month, so if you're interested, know that the clock is ticking. Also, expect to see one or two new fics from us springing up soon. Nothing too huge, but some small one-shots or possibly mini-series, but I think you'll all enjoy them!**

**As always, enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Six – Attack of the Enderwolf**

**Dr Michael Jones**

**Written by Maple Alycia Hood**

* * *

"_There are no heroes...in life, the monsters win." _― George R.R. Martin

* * *

"_Breaking News straight from the centre of Achievement City. In a public announcement depicting the brutal murders of fallen heroes Kerbal Gunnerz and Lamp, an assassination attempt was made on the Major's life. The famous heroic duo, X-Ray and Vav, were able to spot the killer in time and push the Major out of the way of the assassins attack, saving his life._

"_Unfortunately, the criminal remains at large, having fled the scene of crime when events did not turn out as he expected. The FBI and the Achievement City Police Department are looking for anyone who may have information of this assailant to come forth and report to the nearest Police Station. In other news-"_

The rest of it was pretty boring, so Michael tuned out.

Seemed like a lot more people were getting hurt these days. Not just innocents, it seemed, but well known heroes as well. Both Kerbal Gunnerz and Lamp had been very capable 'defenders of good', and he knew that it must've taken an expert to take them out. This was not something for ordinary people to stand up and deal with. Somebody else could get hurt, or worse. Things were going to get a lot darker around here. He could sense it.

Yet what the hell could he do? That fucking Rage Quit yeller who had a side job in a hospital. Or maybe the hospital was his actual job and Rage Quit was his side job. Whatever, the point still remained. He was a normal person, with no cool super powers or any of that shit. But y'know, whatever, leave the dangerous stuff to the proper people and all that. X-Ray and Vav could handle themselves, right? What would they need from him? They were doing a great job.

And who would he be, anyway? Mogar? Michael laughed to himself at the nickname he'd earned from all of those Minecraft Let's Plays. Making Mogar real would definitely save the city, no doubt about it. Imagine all of the stuff he could do; have some sweet ass armor, get an actual diamond sword, beat up some bad guys who deserved it. He'd be fucking set.

Eh, he could dream.

Practically bouncing up from the sofa – he was unusually happy now – he headed to the kitchen, intending to grab a drink of some kind. No alcohol yet; he'd save that for when Lindsay got home. So he grabbed a bottle of Mountain Dew instead, unscrewing the lid and taking a large gulp. A ringing noise caught his attention, and it took him a few seconds to work out what it was. Oh, the phone! He left the bottle back on the side, heading back into the lounge and picking up the nearby phone, holding it to his ear.

"Yo?" he asked.

"Hey, I'm gonna be late home tonight, babe. Traffic downtown is a fuckin' nightmare." The irritated voice of his soon-to-be-fiancé, providing everything went to plan, came down the line, the distant sound of cars honking at each other audible in the background.

"'Cause everyone's going batshit crazy about that assassination attempt against the Major, probably." Michael mused, moving to lean against the drawers, eyes flickering to the TV occasionally to see what other bullshit they were reporting about. Oh, it was the weather. Something about rain tomorrow afternoon. Joy.

"Well he lived, didn't he? No need for the holdup." Lindsay grumbled, causing him to chuckle softly, shaking his head even if she couldn't see it.

"Probably just precautions. It'll be over soon. Hey, do you want me to order something if you're gonna be late?"

"Yeah, I could actually really do with a-"

The line went dead. The lights flickered before dying completely. The TV went off. Michael growled in the darkness. Great, perfect fucking time for a power cut. Now how was he supposed to know what to order? Actually, he probably couldn't order at all. This might be a widespread power cut. Wouldn't surprise him if that were the case. Worse things had happened, though. The power would be back on soon enough.

The TV flickered back to life. _There you go, power's back. Now I need to call Lindsay and see what-_

Something was wrong. The TV didn't switch back to the local news channel that he'd had on originally. It didn't even show the regular channels that he had access to. Instead, it showed the image of a dark room, with a man in a suit standing in the centre, his face obscured by the shadows.

"_X-Ray and Vav,"_ he stated in a deep voice, obviously attempting to sound sinister, which was slightly undone by the pirate accent. Lame. _"You have disrupted the Community's quest of changing this city into our own image by interrupting our mission against the Major. For this, you will suffer our wrath, and we will tear you to pieces in such a way that you will be begging at our feet._

"_I am the Corpirate-"_

Double lame.

"_-the Leader of the Community, and I assure you, we will destroy all that you hold dear. We will break you, physically and emotionally, until there is nothing left. Only then, will we kill you. Unless you stay out of our way. This city needs change, and we will not stop until our visions have come to life. If needs be, we will eradicate every 'hero' from Achievement City, one at a time, and then we will see who this city's true hero is. You will regret standing against us."_

The screen flickered, before going black once again, and the power returned, the TV springing back to life with the previous news channel. Already reports were coming from the entire city. This had been not only a citywide blackout, but a citywide broadcast.

X-Ray and Vav themselves would've no doubt seen it.

Oh, if only he could get out there and give this asshole a piece of his mind. He'd make a badass superhero, he just knew it. Mogar would be the strongest man on the planet. Heck, he could do the Olympics for fun if he wanted to. He'd strike up a gold medal on his first try. That'd be pretty fun. But he'd only do that when everything had been taken care of in the city, when all the assholes had been taught a lesson and X-Ray and Vav were able to handle the entire situation by themselves. Then he'd do whatever.

Well, he would, if he could even make an attempt at being as strong as Mogar would be.

The phone rang again, but before Michael could move to pick it up, something smashed in the kitchen. Had something fallen over? No, the glasses were in the cupboard. The only other glass was the window. He carefully, quietly as possible, moved towards the kitchen. Maybe he could grab a knife on the way there. If he could pick the damn thing up, no burglar was safe.

If only he made it that far. An animalistic snort came from behind him, and he whipped around, immediately cringing as he saw the wolf before him, standing on its hind legs and towering above him. In response to it catching his attention, it snarled in his face.

The last thing Michael Jones had the chance to do was punch it in the face, before a red mist descended over him and everything faded to black.


	7. Chapter 7: Catalyst

**(A/N) Hey all, sorry about the late update, it was my dad's birthday yesterday and I didn't have the time to make the necessary edits and post this. Hopefully the new RWBY episode helped you to waste time before this came up, because I'm sure you're all on tenterhooks as to what happened to Michael. Well you'll just have to wait and see. A short enough chapter this time, but it heralds a few considerably longer ones, which will be coming up soon, as the plot is really going to take off from this point on. In other words, watch this space!**

**For any fans of our Grifball: Running Rampant fic, we're still looking for a few more writers and will be until the end of the month, and I think I'm going to stop announcing it because, hell, you all know about it by this stage. Also want to take this time to bump our roleplay forum, which is there for everyone to take part in, so if you're interested, head on over!**

**Anyways, I've delayed you all long enough. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Seven – Catalyst**

**Ryan Haywood**

**Written by NicKenny**

* * *

"_In any story, the villain is the catalyst. The hero's not a person who will bend the rules or show the cracks in his armour. He's one-dimensional intentionally, but the villain is the person who owns up to what he is and stands by it." - _Marilyn Manson

* * *

Ryan yawned behind the desk of the video game retailer that he worked at, eyeing the clock in a slightly hopeful fashion, as though it would have suddenly have traversed the last hour over the course of the past ten seconds. Ray had called in sick, _again_, and once more Ryan was forced to cover his friend's hours, wondering yet again why he bothered.

The answer came quickly enough: Ray was his friend. And hell, Ryan didn't have too many of those, juggling time between working two jobs and raising his son, and to be honest, he was happy for the extra hours, although he would never admit that to Ray.

The R & R Connection, the two referred to themselves as, on the odd nights when Ryan got home with a few hours to kill before his next job started, his wife and son both asleep. Ryan grinned in memory, recalling all the hours the two played online, dominating various first person shooters. No one could stand before them without being annihilated, and the escapism helped Ryan get through his days.

That wasn't to say that he didn't love his family, he did. He worked hard in order to provide for them, and all of the work that he was doing was ultimately aimed at putting bread on the table, and putting his son through college, when the time came.

Ryan and Ray came from two very different worlds, but that hadn't prevented them from becoming the best of friends. Not that Ryan for a second believed that his friend's constant absences were due to a recurring sickness. He had never actually seen Ray sick, despite all the times that his friend had failed to come into work, not even with a cold. And the sheer amount of times his friend had failed to come up to work indicated that Ray must be close to death, and that was slightly offset by how healthy he looked when he _did _come in.

Of course, he was faking. But _why_? Ryan's curiosity had often been piqued by Ray's absence, but he valued his co-worker's privacy, and he had never brought it up when the two worked or were online together. It just seemed wrong, and Ryan didn't have enough friends that he could afford to piss off the few that he did have.

It might just be linked to the recent murders, after all. Ryan new that a lot of people were scared to go out at night now, after two of the city's finest heroes had been gunned down in the street. He didn't blame them. The people of Achievement City hadn't had to deal with real crime for the last couple of years, thanks to the work of the city's heroes, most notably X-Ray and Vav. But now, who knows what the future held for the city? With two of the heroes shown to bleed just like the rest of humanity, would the criminal element finally stir from whatever abyss it had dragged itself to, and could the gang wars of the past suddenly re-emerge.

Ryan had grown up in a particularly rough part of the city, and it had only been through the intervention of his father that he hadn't ended up in one of the gangs, the Endermen, most likely, as his area was a point of dispute between both the Endermen and the Creepers, two of the city's most powerful gangs at the time, only behind the Ghasts.

However, his dad had kept him too busy to get involved in a gang, getting him his first job when he was thirteen, washing dishes in a local restaurant, and Ryan had never looked back. The working instinct was locked into him now, and if he wasn't doing something productive with his time he was uneasy. The only exception was his game time with Ray, and, to be honest, was his only real hobby. Except, of course, for computers.

Ryan was something of a computer nut, getting into hacking _long _before it was considered cool. There were few things he didn't know about computers, and, in hindsight, he supposed that it was a smart move by his dad, keeping him out of the gangs. Sure, his life might've been a bit more interesting, but it probably would have contained a lot more time being stabbed, shot, beaten up, and, with his computer skills, probably a lot more time in jail for some serious hacking shit. Just look at those WikiLeaks guys. And what they were doing wasn't even for profit!

One day, he'd find a way to put his talents to good use, and he wouldn't have to work all the hours of every day in order to provide for his family, but instead he'd be able to set them up somewhere nice. Somewhere safe. That was all he ever wanted, nothing more, nothing less. He didn't know what he'd do without them.

He turned away from the counter, sighing, not expecting too many more customers to walk into the store, the video gaming clientele tending to drop off after nine. He searched the cupboard under the desk for the order book, about to do a quick stock check before doing the various other things involved in closing a shop: balancing the day's income, noting down his hours, making the necessary orders for all the stock that they were low on, etc.

A few minutes later, when he was checking through the stock in the back-room, clipboard in hand, the wind chimes next to the door tinkled, indicating that someone had just walked into the shop. Forcing a smile on his face, despite his tiredness, Ryan walked back out into the storefront, only to stop in his tracks as he recognised the customer in front of him, although he knew that was impossible, as that person had died years ago.

"K…Kerry?!" he stuttered, unable to believe his eyes. "Is…is that really you?"

He backed away slowly as the person in front of him suddenly snarled and then groaned, his body contorting impossibly and beginning to _grow_, the room filling with the sounds of fabric tearing as the man's clothes proved unable to fit his growing form. He pressed up against the wall behind him, terrified, only able to think _'No, this can't be happening!'._

Ryan slowly moved forward as the figure continued to transform, and his hand reached under the table and hit the silent alarm, terrified by the creature now standing in front of him, its eyes glowing purple and purple flames drifting out of its mouth and nostrils. For a brief moment, both he and the creature stood completely still, their eyes locked on one another, unmoving, unblinking and utterly emotionless.

Then a drop of perspiration slipped from Ryan's brow and splashed onto his nose, causing him to blink, breaking the eye contact between him and the monster. The creature snarled, the spell broken, and its eyes glowed an even fiercer purple. Ryan's throat caught, and he looked around for something to defend himself with, but nothing lay within reach. All he could think about was that, if this was his end, who would provide for his wife and son.

With a roar, purple flames billowed out of the creature's mouth, and the last thing Ryan saw before being knocked into unconsciousness was a black tail swinging his way, tearing through the shop.


	8. Chapter 8: The Eye of Ender

**(A/N) Hey, time for the latest update on the escapades of your favourite superheroes, X-Ray and Vav! And here, we see everything get a little more personal for our heroes, as they realise the true cost of their crusade against crime and evil in general. Written by StormBlue, here is another fantastic chapter for you all to sink your teeth into, and I just hope you'll all enjoy it as much as I did. And when you finish this, make sure to head on over to the Roosterteeth website and check out the latest RWBY episode!**

**Just reminding you once more, even though I said I wouldn't, so technically, I lied before, but meh, that we're still looking for writers for our Grifball fic, so if you're interested please head on over to our forum and fill in an application, or just PM me. Thanks!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Eight – The Eye of Ender**

**Ray Narvaez Jr / X-Ray**

**Written by StormBlue**

* * *

"_Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved._" - Helen Keller

* * *

Gavin was pacing in front of Ray, who was sitting down on the couch, his dark eyes moving with his partner beneath their glasses. They had both heard the threat from the Corpirate. Everyone in the city had heard it. The threat had been against _them_, and yet all was quiet so far. Nothing had happened to draw them out into the open, no snipers had attempted to kill them where they stood. Nothing had happened yet...nothing that they knew of anyway.

"Think we should lay low?" Ray finally asked, beginning to grow tired of the pacing.

Gav paused to look down at Ray. "Normally I would say no, but Kerbal and Lamp are both dead now," he said grimly.

"But we saved the mayor," Ray added. Gavin continued to go back and forth, and Ray just wanted him to stop. "Why are you doing that?"

"Doing what?" Gavin's voice was slightly high-pitched like it got whenever he was excited or nervous, his British accent overlaying the words.

"Pacing! What are you so worried about?" He could understand being worried in a situation like this. Any normal person would be. But they were two of Achievement City's superheroes. They had faced some pretty tough crooks, been in grim situations, and had gotten plenty of death threats before. What was different about this one?

Gavin stopped and spread his hands. "Think about it," he said. "What did the Corpirate say? Did he say that he was trying to kill us? I didn't hear him say that. Which means..."

Ray frowned in thought before he got the gist of what his friend was saying. "He's not going after us. He's going after what we care about?" He looked up, confused. "How would he even know what that is?"

Gavin ran a hand through his hair, sighing. "I don't know. I don't know, but I'm calling Michael," he reached behind him and pulled his phone out of his pocket, flipping through the contacts list.

"Michael? Do you think he's in trouble?" Ray questioned.

Instead of replying, Gavin just put the phone up to his ear, and there was a moment of silence, unbroken except for the faint ringing. Ray waited expectantly, and Gavin's eyebrows came together in worry when there wasn't an answer. He tried again.

"He's not answering," Gav said, although it was rather obvious. He placed the phone back in his pocket and picked up a light jacket off the arm of the couch. "I'm going to his apartment, make sure he's okay."

Ray stood up and grabbed his own jacket, growing similarly worried. "You do that. I'm going to go to the retailer; Ryan should be there. Call me when you get there."

"Will do," Gavin replied, and they both hurriedly left, turning their separate ways when they got outside.

Ray started off walking down the sidewalk, not needing a vehicle as his destination wasn't far. Ryan Haywood worked at the retailer for video games, where Ray also had a job. Since neither of the superheroes had family in Achievement City-Ray's in New York and Gavin's all the way in England-he doubted they had to worry about them.

The time he had spent as X-Ray had kept him fit, so he was able to maintain a brisk pace as he made his way to the store, the path a familiar one to him. A few people about their own business gave him a glance or two as he passed, and he mentally smiled. One of the things he liked about being a superhero was having a secret identity. If anyone passing him on the street knew what he did in his spare time, they would flip! Even though it had it's drawbacks, having a secret like the one he had was exciting. No one knew that him and Gavin were two of the most famous people in the city.

Though, it would seem, this so-called Community was at least getting close. Ray wasn't sure what to think of the newly arisen Community yet. It didn't seem similar to any of the gangs X-Ray and Vav had disbanded yet, leading him to question where they had come from, what their motives were. How strong were they and what influence did they have over Achievement City?

Sirens sounded behind him, and he turned to see a bright red fire truck racing racing forward, rounding a corner in front of Ray. Turning the same corner, he saw there was a commotion up ahead. Cars weren't being allowed in and people were rushing away. Without hesitation, Ray continued forward, his walk turning into a run. He saw smoke rising into the air, and surrounding one of the buildings were more large trucks from the fire department.

He continued closer, unnoticed by any of the firemen that were trying desperately to put the fire out, and he finally realized that the store on fire was the same one he had been headed toward in the first place. The retailer was on fire. Worry gnawed at his mind as he thought of Ryan. Had he managed to get out?

Curiously, it appeared that the attempts from the fire brigade didn't have any success on the fire. The flames themselves were an odd hue of purple, making Ray wonder what could have caused them. He walked closer, but then was halted by one of the firemen.

"Sorry sir, but this building is unsafe to approach. I advise you to keep your distance," the man said, and Ray raised his eyebrows.

"Unsafe? No way, really? What'd they name you, Sherlock of the year?" Ray retorted without thinking.

A stern look crossed the man's face and he folded his arms.. "I'm just doing my job, sir. You wanna burn to a crisp going in there, be my guest."

Ray suddenly regretted the words. "Listen, sorry. I just-I just work there. Do you know if there was anyone inside?" he asked, his voice showing the worry that he felt for his co-worker.

The man's face softened a little. "Until the flames die down, no one's going to be able to go in there. We're doing everything we can to stop the fire, but for some reason, nothing appears to be working on it. It's all we can do just to keep it from spreading."

Ray nodded, respecting this man and his dangerous job. "Ok. Thanks," he said.

"No problem," the fireman replied. "Just don't get close and stay out of the way, alright?"

Ray agreed and backed away a little, stepping to the side. However, he saw something that caught his attention. The door of the retailer was still intact, and there was something on it that hadn't been there before. He squinted and leaned forward slightly to get a better look at what appeared to be a round symbol of sorts. It looked familiar to him.

His pocket suddenly buzzed, and with one last look at the sign, he walked away a little bit and pulled his cellphone out, looking at the caller. It was Gavin. He opened it up.

"Gav, are you-"

"Ray, Michael isn't here," came Gavin's voice. "He's not at his apartment."

Ray blinked. In finding the retailer on fire and worrying about Ryan, he had momentarily forgotten about Michael. "Could he just be somewhere else?" he asked Gavin.

Gavin sighed. "No. He's not here, but someone else has been. Some of his stuff has been knocked over, and there's this symbol-"

"Wait, hold up-you mean someone took him?" Ray swore, then realized what his partner had just said. "A symbol? Like what kind?"

There was a few seconds of silence as Gavin probably examined it. "It's a circle with a line in the middle, like...like a snake eye or something? It looks familiar but I can't place it..."

Ray glanced back at the symbol on the door that was identical to what Gavin had described, and his mind started going into overdrive, trying to put the pieces together. Something Gav had said stuck out to him. "Eye..." he muttered to himself.

"What?" Gavin asked, confused.

"Gav, someone set the retailer on fire. The firemen can't seem to put it out, and there's that same symbol on the door," he explained into the mouthpiece.

Gavin swore as well. "And Ryan?"

Ray ran a hand through his dark hair. "I don't know," he replied. "But the symbol, don't you get it? It's an eye. The Eye of Ender."

Gavin processed that, understanding what it meant. "The Endermen? But we took care of them! I thought they formed an anti-gang charity, called-"

"-the Friendermen, I know," Ray finished for him. "It doesn't make sense, but it's the same sign."

Ray heard Gav take a deep breath over the phone. "So their sign is at two different crime scenes? What does that mean?"

Ray heaved a sigh, at a loss. "I don't know. I guess we get to find out, though," he whispered as he looked back at the burning store.


	9. Chapter 9: The Friendermen Murders

**(A/N) Hey guys, it's time for your weekly dose of your favourite dynamic duo! Screw Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck, the real superheroes, as we all know, are X-Ray and Vav. Where's their movie?! (On a related topic, how awesome would it be if they had a movie?) This chapter continues the darker tone we've been going with in this fic so far, written by the ever-incredible StormBlue, and builds up the plot just a little bit more. Hope you enjoy this chapter, I sure as hell did! And, for all you RWBY fans, I hope you all enjoyed the latest episode!**

**As always, enjoy. (Or we'll send the Enderwolf after you!)**

* * *

**Chapter Nine – The Friendermen Murders**

**Agent Joel Heyman**

**Written by StormBlue**

* * *

_"The thing I fear most is fear."_ - Michel de Montaigne

* * *

Reaching up and rubbing his eyes, Federal Agent Joel Heyman sighed and ran his hand through his hair, then went back to looking at the papers in front of him. He had lines of weariness on his face and shadows under his eyes, along with a head full of messy hair, sticking out in all directions-but then again, his hair always looked like that. He had been focusing on his job, working late every night for the past...how long had it been? He was losing track of time. His co-workers urged him to go home and get some rest, but even they understood the importance of solving the murders and putting a stop to them.

The city had begun to grow complacent with their newfound safety after X-Ray and Vav showed up, but suddenly it didn't feel as safe as it did before. Two of Achievement City's heroes...gone. There was an unspoken question in the air; unvoiced, yet everyone was thinking it.

Would X-Ray and Vav be able to defeat this threat? Or would they be overwhelmed and destroyed?

Not everyone was confident that they would, but Joel was. The pair had brought much to the city that had been lost when the gangs had pretty much taken over, and they had overcome many things so far. And he planned to help them out as much as he possibly could.

The two were fairly young, Joel knew. Still adults, but they lacked certain lessons that could only be learned through time and experience. And yet they could do so much more than the police could. In the time he had spent with them, he had learned they they were good friends and in addition to their desire to help people, they enjoyed joking around. While it did get on his nerves in serious situations-that nickname they had given him, J-Roll, especially-he did suppose it was good for morale. Not just their own, but for the people around them as well. And Agent Heyman hadn't ever delved to try and find out their secret identities. He owed them at least that much.

Joel turned his focus back to his work, stifling the urge to yawn. Yes, it had been a long week, but he would probably work late again tonight, and indeed for all of next week. They would do what they had to.

"Heyman!" a familiar voice called out through the workspace.

"Yeah, what's up?" Joel looked up to see his partner, Burns, strolling toward him, a frown on his face.

"We've got trouble down at the Friendermen warehouse," Burns said, stopping by Joel's desk and slapping down a folder containing a few papers. "Got these in just now."

Joel picked them up and started looking through them, his eyes moving quickly across the lines. "The Friendermen? What trouble could they have gotten into?" To be honest, he shouldn't have been surprised. The Friendermen did have shady pasts, even if they didn't show any signs of wanting to return to the gang business. Something on the page caught his eye, and he squinted and looked closer. "There was a murder?"

Burns nodded at the folder. "Keep reading."

Joel did so, his features growing more and more grim. He finally set them down and looked up at his partner. "Do we know of anyone who would want to do this?"

Burns just shrugged. "Knowing those guys and where they came from, there could be any number of people out to get them. Only problem is, most of them have already been either locked away or disbanded by those two buddies of yours in unitards." He picked up one the papers and started looking through it again. "It could be any kind of motive too. Wanting to stop the charity work they're doing, or some people might even see the Friendermen as traitors for not only turning their backs on the illegal business, but trying to keep others from doing it.

"But what's more confusing," Burns said as he shifted his weight, "is one of them got away, apparently. But did he get lucky? Or was he just left alone?"

Joel had noticed that as well, standing out in comparison to the rest of the report. But at least they had a lead. He stood, ignoring what he had been working on previously, and started walking, Burns right behind him. "So do they need us on scene, to see what's left?"

"No, I just spoke to Kara Eberle. The forensic teams are already there, and she said they'd give us a more detailed report as soon as they have it. They took the camera footage over to the police department though," Burns replied.

Joel nodded his head. "Okay, we'll head over there first then, see if we can get a look at whoever did this."

They strolled through the front room and J-Roll pulled the glass door open, pulling out his keys and unlocking one of the cars out front. He climbed in the driver seat while Burns followed suit on the other side, a hint of haste in their movements.

The Warehouse owned by the Friendermen charity had been filled with just over twenty people.

As of half an hour ago, only one of them was still alive.

"So what are we looking at?" Joel asked one of the local policemen when they had arrived at the station.

"I don't know sir, we haven't seen the footage yet," the policeman replied. "But we've got it hooked up and ready for you."

They walked into another room where the screen was waiting for them, and not wasting another moment, Joel pushed the button to start the footage. Nothing happened. He pushed it again, and it still didn't work. "What's wrong with this?"

Burns sighed and reached forward, first touching one button then pressing start, and the footage started rolling. "They got a call from a passerby at around three-fifteen this afternoon, said he heard screaming from the building. By the time the others got there, it was too late. The footage is set to show us thirty minutes before the call. Figure that should give us enough time to see what happened, and look for anything suspicious beforehand."

Joel watched the screen. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary, just a room full of people going about their jobs. Coming up with fundraisers, sorting the money they had coming in, and putting it to use in campaigns to prevent people-mostly young adults and teenagers-from illegal activities. There was conversation between co-workers, the occasional joking around, they seemed like fairly happy people, working for a good cause.

The footage continued like this for about fifteen minutes, and the officers waited anxiously for something to happen. Joel had his hands on his hips and an expectant scowl on his face; Burns gazed quizzically at the screen, fingering his curly beard. The policeman accompanying them just stood back, fiddling with his fingers.

Joel blinked, suddenly noticing something strange changing within the room. "What is that?"

Burns leaned in, seeing the same thing. "Is that...smoke?"

Joel shook his head slowly, watching the screen fog up with what did indeed appear to be smoke, or at least something similar. "But it's red. Red smoke? What causes that?"

The last glimpses they had of the people inside were of them standing and looking around in confusion and worry, calling out to one another before losing sight of each other. When the room was completely filled with this strange red mist, the screams started. At first they were just screams of confusion, shock, or trying to locate the others, but it only took a moment for them to change to pure terror. The smoke swirled by the camera and shadows moved throughout the room, human figures that were attempting to get away from whatever was in the room with them, and less and less voices were crying out.

One man ran close to the camera, running toward something to the side-a window, perhaps-and not a second later the smoke swirled again, as if something else was passing by. They saw a shadow, but it was gone too quickly to be able to even see a shape. They heard the horrified screams of the man cut off abruptly, and it was followed with dead silence.

No one moved; the three men probably weren't even breathing. They watched the next few minutes as nothing moved in the screen except the red mist, which slowly cleared out, leaving only the mangled corpses of the workers. They could faintly hear the sirens from outside the building, and they knew it was over, but still no one moved.

Joel finally let out his breath and paused the footage.

The policeman's eyes were almost as wide as golf balls. "Did you hear-? Those people...those screams..." he stuttered, unable to form a complete sentence. "They were absolutely terrified."

Burns shifted his weight. "What the hell could have done that?"

Joel held up a finger. "Rewind the footage, back to when that last man passed and slow it down," he said.

Burns hesitated slightly, obviously not wanting to witness the ordeal again, but he complied. They saw the man as the footage passed frame by frame, his eyes wide in terror and mouth open, clothes dishevelled from his panic. He slowly passed in front of the camera, and Joel focused, waiting for the precise moment...he stopped it as soon as the smoke swirled and the shadow passed. It wasn't a clear image, but as least they had an outline of the attacker. And it wasn't human.

The only way to describe it was canine. It was slightly hunched over with a long jaw hanging open in the anticipation of the hunt and the kill. There were red pinpricks of light where the eyes would have been, giving it a fierce, evil look. But it couldn't have been any kind of dog, for it stood on two legs, rather than four. Taller than the average man, it had a long, muscled arm stretched forward towards its prey, the tapering fingers ending in claws. The red smoke surrounding the creature only enhanced the demonic look.

Joel stood, transfixed, a knot of dread weighing his stomach down like a bundle of bricks would have. This was...it wasn't impossible; X-Ray and Vav were just a couple of examples that things some might call 'supernatural' existed. No, this was out of their league. He didn't see any way that the police could combat this thing and win.

"What else do we know?" he asked, the question aimed at either of the other two with him.

"The only other thing Kara mentioned was that the victims appeared to have been 'mauled.' Now I see what she meant by that," Burns replied.

"Has the survivor said anything yet?" Joel inquired.

The policeman shrugged. "No, we haven't been able to get a single word out of him yet. He was obviously scared out of his wits...now I understand why," he shuddered.

"What do we do about this?" Burns asked.

Joel sighed, his mind coming up blank. "I honestly don't think there's much that we_ can_ do about this."

They would need help dealing with this unknown entity. Burns looked away for a moment, obviously not liking the conclusion, but finally giving in. "Alright, fine. Call them in."

Joel nodded and reached for his phone, dialling the now-familiar number. It rang a couple of times before a voice answered.

"**J-Roll?**"

"X-Ray. We need your help."


	10. Chapter 10: Interrogation

**(A/N) It's time for our latest update in the saga of X-Ray and Vav! Last chapter left us on a bit of a cliffhanger as the FBI discovered the sole survivor to the slaughter of the Friendermen by the Enderwolf. Now it's time to find out exactly what went on. Step forward X-Ray and Vav! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I did, and a big shout-out to its writer, the ever incredible LanaLlama! Some big chapters coming up over the next few weeks, so stay tuned for updates, same time every week! Also, for those not aware, the new episode of RWBY is already out for sponsors, and will be out soon for non-sponsors, and I, personally, can't wait!**

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter Ten – Interrogation**

**Dr Gavin Free / Vav**

**Written by LanaLlama**

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_There comes a time in a man's life when to get where he has to go-if there are no doors or windows-he walks through a wall. - _Bernard Malamud

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Things had become way too much lately for X-Ray and Vav. Everything was piling on and they just couldn't seem to get a break. One thing after another came along, and now, here they were, walking behind J-Roll and the ever cranky Agent Burns, in a hallway sickeningly lit with yellow bulbs that washed the white walls with their colour.

Ahead of the two young men the curly haired agent and J-Roll murmured sharply, only small amounts of the conversation being thrown back to the superheroes. What little they caught, the two could tell that it was, yet again, about them. Agent Burns had never approved of the two heroes, their powers or their methods; it was clear in every word he said and every look he threw their way.

There had been an attack at the Friendermen warehouse, the two had been told, and only one survivor. About them they could hear low voices on the other side of the thick doors that lined either side of the corridor, punctuated by the odd yell off defiance.

It was seemingly random when the group halted before a door moments later and the two younger men were fixed with a cutting gaze.

"The survivor's in here." J-Roll announced to them, his voice quiet and serious, his eyes on X-Ray. "Try to be careful."

"We believe he's suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress." Agent Burns cut in, with a voice that could only be called arrogant with its knowledge. Vav's eyes moved about him, from the door to the two agents and back before he nodded and spoke up.

"You can count on us." The slight quiver in his voice was the noise of someone feigning confidence when they had nerves writhing about in their gut. It wasn't exactly the speciality of the superheroes, dealing with delicate matters, but their resolve to find out who was disturbing the peace of Achievement City was much stronger and overruled their lack of comfort.

While J-Roll searched for the key to the room Agent Burns stared them down, his eyes bearing his irritation and tiredness. The jingling of keys and scratching of metal on metal went on for longer than they could bear, and Vav found himself defiantly staring over his large nose at the broad shouldered man.

"Okay, like I said, go easy on the guy." The voice whipped through their competition and drew the looks to him. "You've seen the small evidence we have, this is the only other thing we have to go on and I don't need any of you ruining it with your dumb prejudices." The last few words were aimed by J-Roll at his partner.

With his hand on the key protruding from the lock the tallest of the group looked between the two parties. "Can I count on you to be civil with each other for now?"

"I'm not stupid." Vav began the left corner of his lip twitching up.

"That's debatable." The Brit's partner murmured, his eyes shining with some new found confidence about their situation.

"Hey!" A shoulder nudge and the two had proved the point that they would manage this as long as Agent Burns agreed too. "I'm the brains of this operation; you're just my dolt of a side-kick."

"Whatever you say, buddy." A returned nudge and X-Ray's eyes moved up to J-Roll. "Let's just get this over with; I don't want to deal with this any longer than I have to."

"_That _is something we can agree on."

"Wait, wait, we don't want to scare the poor sod, maybe just two of us should go in for now?" The high pitched suggestion of Vav had them pausing in consideration.

"Huh, maybe you do have some brains."

"Told you!"

It was agreed on, somehow, that if the two superhero's went in together, only to have the two agents arrive after the survivor would be even more terrified; it was extra authority arriving, and they could tell that it would only scare him even more. It took some talking, but eventually the key was finally turned and J-Roll stepped in with Vav by his side.

Inside was uncomfortable; the light's glow was invasive and attacked all who entered. Before them the survivor sat with his head on the table, wrapped up in his arms as though they could protect him from what he had seen. It didn't look comfortable, but that was probably the last thing on his mind considering he was trembling.

Strips of his not-quite-black hair peeked from between his fingers and Vav easily found himself pitying the man. He could feel the moment out in the hallway fading away and himself sobering up, becoming more serious, and at the moment a lot more sensitive to the events that had occurred. They were cautious in shutting the door. Well, as careful as one could be with a thick, heavy door that led into an interrogation room.

"Your name is Adam, correct?" J-Roll advanced cautiously, pulled out two chairs for himself and Vav to sit on, sitting himself directly opposite the stricken man. His tone was abnormally soft and comforting considering the agent was a guy who normally liked to yell nonsense in his spare time.

He twitched at the words, leaving them to think for a moment that it would be their only response before his head shot up, eyes wide and a gasp escaping his throat. In something of a panic he looked behind him, every which way, rising from his seat and moving with his eyes still on Vav and J-Roll.

"Why do you want to know?" His eyes blinked rapidly, as though trying to rid himself of an image he would rather leave far behind. "He sent you to finish the job didn't he?" The corner provided a nice security. "Well, I won't let you." It certainly seemed as though there wasn't enough fight within him however. The dark circles below his bloodshot eyes and his mussed up hair held balding patches where he must have tugged at it in his fear and frustration.

"We're here to protect you." Vav tapped at his chest, indicating the British flag that identified him as one of the two most famous superheroes in all of Achievement City.

"I don't believe you." He glared, pulling his eyebrows down and crinkling his nose into a snarl, almost animal in his reactions, his immense fear having stripped him of much of his thought processes, reverting his mind to a more primal form.

"Wouldn't we have already done it if that was what we wanted?" J-Roll swooped in and saved the conversation.

There was shifting of eyes and obvious decision making going on in Adams head before his lowered his defences slightly, though the man did remain in his secure little corner with eyes ready to shoot daggers. His arms folded about his torso.

"What do you want?" There was a fear in his defensiveness; his arms quivered in the slightest and his fingers tapped against his skin.

"We just need to talk."

"If this is about what happened I'm not going to say a word." He swallowed harshly, as though he were hiding everything he had seen. His head shook once more and his brown eyes grew shiny. "I can't. I just can't." With his back against the wall he slid down it, once again collapsing in on himself. Arms curled about his head and propped on his knees.

J-Roll and Vav shared a small glance. What were they to do about this guy? Neither of them was good at comforting people or talking, but something had to be done if they were to find out why a whole warehouse of workers turned up dead last night.

"Such big teeth and such red eyes." A mutter left the corner that had two sets of eyes turning back to Adam. "Terrifying, terrifying red eyes. They'll haunt you; stare into your soul." He rocked, forwards and backwards, knees hugged by his arms and head buried.

Unsure of what compelled him to do so Vav moved from his chair and around the table, while behind him he could hear the door open and words were murmured outside of it. He knelt before Adam, peering at him while continued to babble a train of words that he couldn't work out.

"Hey, buddy?" Cautiously Vav reached out to Adam, only to have the man flinch away the second he made contact.

"A wolf?" X-Ray's sudden words made Vav jump slightly and almost topple over.

"What?"

"It sounds like he's talking about a wolf." The Puerto Rican joined the Brit on the floor, crouching before the irrational survivor.

"He's not just a wolf; you didn't see him. He had such red, red eyes and such big, sharp teeth and fur that was made from shadows – it wrapped around you and swallowed you whole. Couldn't see….couldn't breathe."

"Hey," Slowly X-Ray reached his own hand out, and cautiously brought it down onto Adam's shoulder for comfort, as behind them, once more the door opened and closed. The two agents now stood not far away from them, watching. "You're safe now, that wolf can't touch you." Still Adam's body shook, but his rocking ceased, and slowly his head lifted to look at the two superheroes.

"He will find me." When his head lifted his eyes met Vav's directly, and behind the fear that shone at the front; despite it, the Brit could see just a hint of determination, the will to survive this. "He never leaves a job unfinished." Adam's words were just terrified whispers that were almost drowned out by the scratching of pen on paper coming from Agent Burns.

"Who're you talking about?" Vav was the one to ask this question, but it only led to Adam snapping away from the eye contact and shaking his head fervently from side to side. X-Ray drew his hand away, glanced at his partner, the two agents and the shaking man before him. _Name? _He mouthed to his partner in the next instant, his own face now set in determination.

"Adam."

"Look, we know you're scared and worried that he'll be back to finish the job, but unless you tell us exactly what happened, we" He indicated the room at large "can't do a single thing to help protect you or make sure that he's stopped; whoever it is you're talking about."

"The wolf had such big teeth and red eyes; he was our punishment." Well, it was certainly a start. The noise of the pen scratching slowed, and X-Ray could sense Agent Burns' eyes on him.

"Your punishment for what?" His knees were beginning to ache; this floor wasn't designed for kneeling or sitting on, but if he moved now he might distract Adam or send him spiralling back into the unchecked fear he had moments ago.

Adam shook his head once again and ducked it to tuck it beneath his arms to hide away from the world; away from what happened to him.

"He sent the Enderwolf after us," Though his words were slightly muffled by the way he was hiding, they all caught what he said; the rest of the room seemed to be holding its breath, just waiting to find out the stunning and horrific truth. "Because we didn't want to join him."

They waited, hoping for a name to arise, but all that was left was silence that rang even louder than it should have.

"Adam, look at me." Now it was Vav's turn to be determined to find out the truth. His words were so solid and stable that the black haired man before him just had to comply and catch the Brit's murky green eyes. "Who sent the Enderwolf after you?" The Enderwolf must have been that single image that they caught on the video, and what Adam had described so much and with such fear.

Once again the survivor's head shook in reluctance to share the information, or to rid himself of a terrible thought.

"He-" The words caught and he paused for a moment, as though considering them and their order. "He wanted us to join the Endermen…He used to lead them." The sound of the scratching pen picked up once more and they all knew that things were going on the right track now.

"Who was it?" Vav's words were strangely hushed and reverent. Both of the superheroes could remember that gang and the trouble they caused the duo well.

"Adam, please, we need a name." X-Ray chipped in too, and they both looked to the man in earnest. To be so close and for it to be messed up now because they said the wrong thing or spoke in the wrong tone would be quite the problem.

"He led the Endermen, said he needed members." His eyes fell to his knees and suddenly seemed to find them much more interesting than any of the other four people in the room.

"But what was his name?" Agent Burns' voice was loud and forceful and made Adam shrink backwards, towards the wall again; as though he were trying to phase into it.

Vav had a glare ready to shoot over his shoulder at the curly haired agent who had just messed up the system they had going. His only response was to look at Adam with eyes that could be seen as accusing.

"He's going to have me killed, I just know it. I can sense him coming for me, he's waiting…He's so angry." Adam ducked his head once more and tried to make himself as small as possible. "Please don't let him kill me, my dog won't know what's happened to me, she'll wonder where I am. I can't bear to think of her on her own."

"Adam, if we're going to protect you, we'll need his name." Again, Agent Burns' voice was much too loud and business like for this situation. Sure Vav and J-Roll weren't exactly comfortable with being careful and more sensitive to a person, but they weren't so dense and stupid to talk as though this were a business transaction.

"Such big, big teeth. His eyes were so red and bloody."

"I don't think he's going to tell us." X-Ray glanced between his partner and the two agents.

"His fur was made of shadows; couldn't breathe, couldn't see. Thought I was going to die."

"Maybe we should bring his dog in?" The two superheroes rose from their spot on the floor and made for the door to stretch their stiff legs. It had felt like they were kneeling in front of him for forever. "Get him to loosen up and feel a little safer." A snort sounded behind him as J-Roll turned to lock the door. "What?"

"You two really have no idea how any of this police stuff works, do you?" Vav and X-Ray both turned to face Agent Burns who decided, at that very moment to pull his sunglasses over his eyes, as though they would make him look "cool". "An interrogation does not take place on the floor, I hope you haven't made a habit of talking to everyone like that."

"Aren't you the one that told us he was suffering from PTSD?" Vav's hands actually went to his hips as he looked up at the curly haired agent once more.

"Yeah, you've gotta be careful and sensitive with people suffering from it, not talk to them like you're interrogating a criminal." X-Ray jumped in to Vav's aid immediately.

"I was just trying to get the damn thing over with! You two were taking far too long."

"At least they got something out of him, unlike you." J-Roll turned from the door, spinning the keys about his finger smoothly. "Which we _should_ be focusing on, not fighting about dumb methods." Once again he looked accusingly between the two parties. "It's also getting pretty late; you two should head home and get some rest."

"Oh, but I shouldn't?" J-Roll's partner looked to him irritated.

"No, we've got work to do. " Agent Burns huffed, turned from the group and stormed away down the corridor, his footsteps loud and echoing.

Vav watched him leave, relief seeping freely as the air lifted and became a little less tense with him gone. "Was he always such a huge twat?"


	11. Chapter 11: The Big Bad Wolf

**(A/N) Hey guys, sorry about the week late update. In order to make it up to all of you, there will be another X-Ray and Vav chapter posted on Sunday this week. But I think this one just might be awesome enough to make your wait worth it. Written by the always amazing Tall on the Inside, this chapter really delivers, comically, actionally (?) and...well...in kickassitude! So, without further ado, here you go!**

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter Eleven – The Big Bad Wolf**

**Ray Narvaez Jr / X-Ray**

**Written by Tall on the Inside**

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_"A realisation washed over her in that cold, dark space: this was how virtually all living things born on Earth have died- with teeth tearing through their muscle and bones. We humans have computers and soap and houses but it doesn't change the fact that everything that walks is nothing but food for something else."_ - David Wong,_ This Book is Full of Spiders_

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It was a yawn from Vav that made X-Ray realise both how tired he was, and how late it was. For a moment he was struck with the idea that he wouldn't be able to keep his eyes open at work, before of course remembering that the shop had burnt down. His stomach clenched with fear; he still didn't know if Ryan was alright. He blinked a few times, as if blinking could shake away his worries, then fixed his gaze of Vav once again. Said British hero was not quite done yawning and was scratching the back of his neck.

"Anyway," X-Ray said finally, quietly, the two still lurking in front of the station, "That was a thing."

"Yeah," Vav nodded, his eyes dazed and tired, "it certainly was."

The two stood in silence for a moment longer, before both speaking at once, with Vav mumbling, "We should probably head home now," and X-Ray stating, "Man, I'm exhausted."

The Brit broke into an uneasy smile at their joint attempt to break the silence, and ran a hand through his hair.

"Do you think crime'll give us a break, just for tonight?" X-Ray continued. "I could use a good night's sleep."

Vav chewed his lower lip, and the two began to move, keeping as low a profile as they could manage (X-Ray knew from experience what a pain it was to be seen in this goddamn cape), and asked, "What do you think's going on? Because I don't know about you but I haven't a bloody clue."

X-Ray shrugged. "I don't know man, I don't know. I mean, there are just too many random things going on, like the gang-leader-dude and that Wolf thing... Like what's up with that?" He flashed Vav a smile. "Think we're dealing with a werewolf here Vav?"

The Brit scoffed. "Don't be stupid, werewolves don't exist. This is-"

"Neither do superheroes," X-Ray interrupted solemnly.

Vav shook his comment away, almost as though refusing to acknowledge it and just spoke louder. "This is a serious conversation," he repeated. "We have no idea what that Enderwolf is, or whether this was an attack by the Community or whether it was something completely different!"

"It's probably not completely different," X-Ray suggested, "I doubt we'd have that many weirdos running around, fucking shit up."

The pair stopped, having reached the point they'd split. Vav hesitated, and it almost seemed as though there was something he wanted to say, but he just shook his head and sighed. "I don't know whether to hope the incidents are related or pray they aren't," he admitted.

"Yeah," X-Ray chuckled. "We're pretty fucked, aren't we?"

Vav sighed. "Stay safe," he said. He gave X-Ray just enough time to mumble, "You too," before turning, his cape fanning behind him dramatically, and reminding X-Ray just how badass they must look to people who aren't them; or at least, how badass the suits looked to people who didn't have to suffer through the rash they left.

Unlike Gavin, Ray didn't live in what most would consider the "good" part of Achievement City. Nor was it the "nice" part, or the "wealthy" part, and X-Ray showing up in it would cause a scene, so after the two had split up he'd made sure to ditch his costume the first chance he'd gotten, which meant an extremely awkward fifteen minutes of struggling with the costume in a dark alley, barely able to see and praying that he wouldn't be seen. Having a secret identity was vital, but, at times like this it didn't half piss him off, especially since the costume was so fucking uncomfortable and nigh-on impossible to get on or off. And once it was off he had to find something to do with it. He wasn't Superman; he didn't have the ability to keep this shit on under his clothes. He had to be more resourceful than that.

Eventually he settled on just shoving the thing inside one of his boots. He'd iron it or something tomorrow. It wasn't like he'd need it again until then anyway, and now, instead of X-Ray turning up in his neighbourhood, it was just Ray with a new pair of boots.

He could hear the couple who lived next door to him arguing before he'd even reached his driveway. He sighed. It was going to be one of those nights, where they screamed at each other for hours before she finally decided she'd had enough, left, and came back several hours later, drunk, louder and angrier than before, and the argument would start again. Great. That was just what he needed.

His door opened with a foreboding creak, and not for the first time Ray found himself worried it would fall off. Its hinges were loose and the key didn't always turn properly; he should probably look into that. He dropped his boots down in the hallway and rubbed his eyes tiredly. Scratch getting a new door, he could do with a new house. The place was a shithole he'd always told himself he'd improve, but never had. There was mould in the kitchen cupboards which had just made him move all of its content into a different cupboard. The carpets were stained and had this kind of musty smell to them that reminded Ray of one time he'd stood next to an old lady who'd forgotten her umbrella and was drenched in rain.

If there was one thing Ray had never thought his house would smell like, it was wet old people. Resolving to finally buy some mould-removal-cream, or whatever the hell he actually needed, he made his way through to the kitchen. He decided he'd buy some paint while he was at it. And some carpet shampoo. He felt like he deserved it. He'd earned the right to make his house stop smelling like wet old people.

His kitchen was barely large enough for himself and his appliances to all be in at once. He grabbed a packet of something from a cupboard and threw it into the microwave. He should have probably put it in a bowl first, he realised as he punched in settings. He shrugged it off. The food was instant and microwavable; it was going to be bland and tasteless regardless of whether he followed the instructions or not. He grabbed a bowl and waited, listening to some of next-door's argument as he did. The bleeping was just loud enough to drown out their yells for a second, then it stopped when he wrenched the door open. He discovered that the meal he'd thrown in there had been rice. His stomach growling reminded him that it was God knows what time, and he was too hungry to give a shit.

He poured the rice in the bowl and shoved a spoon into the rice, stirring it a few times half-heartedly. He grimaced, imaging how awful it was going to taste already, and took the dish through to the living room. He plonked himself down on his sofa and grabbed the television remote. He wasn't really planning on watching anything, he just wanted to hear something other than next-door's shouting. His living room was soon full with the static interview of some British archer who was going to be in the next Olympics or something; the audio quality was extremely poor, so the sound was muffled.

Spoonful after spoonful of bland rice was shoved into his mouth. The archer talked on and on, but Ray wasn't listening. He was too wrapped on in his thoughts. This had to be another attack by the Community, didn't it? That would mean the gang leader was a part of it which would mean the Friendermen knew something but... But why the wolf? Was the wolf a weapon? Something the Community had made or bought or trained or... or something completely different that had nothing to do with anything.

He was in over his head. They were in over their heads. X-Ray and Vav were in over their heads.

He didn't know when he'd finished his rice, but the fact that he'd actually been attempting to eat from an empty bowl told him that was it, it was time to go to bed. He shut off the athlete's interview, dropped his bowl into the sink, and headed upstairs. For a few moments, he debated whether or not he should shower, before realising he'd been in that damned costume and so would have sweated a hell of a lot more than normal people should. At the very least, he'd shove his head under the shower, he decided.

His bathroom was even smaller than his kitchen. He took off his shirt and threw it in the corner of the room, before pulling on the cord. His shower was slow, and, knowing it would take about five minutes for the water to warm up, so he thought he might as well brush his teeth while he waited. He wasn't sure whether using his tap would have any form of impact on how long it took his shower to warm up, but he figured he might as well do it- YOLO, right?

He took a tube of toothpaste from his windowsill and grabbed his toothbrush. He struggled with the tube for a little while, but finally managed to squeeze some of paste out. The room filled with its obnoxiously minty scent instantly. For some reason, instead of being white, or streaked, this toothpaste was bright green, which was somewhat disconcerting, but Ray wasn't one to complain about toothpaste. He turned on his tap and held his brush under the stream for a second. Over the thrum of running water, he thought he heard his bathroom door creak open, but dismissed it almost instantly.

Then he looked up.

Staring back at him, reflected on the mirror's slightly steamed surface, was not just his own tired face. There was also the image of something dark and huge, with two large, red eyes that met his gaze. It took him by surprise and he stumbled back, falling, to his complete horror, into whatever it was that rested behind him.

A feral snarl forced him into action; he barely had time to think before his eyes were burning, and he was pivoting around. He felt the blast before the thing did, his vision blurring and his head pounding as unbearable heat seared through his irises, concentrated on that dark mass, and that mass alone. The thing made a canine yelp as it flew backwards, powered by the blast Ray had fired at it, hitting his bathroom wall with enough force for the plaster to crack.

Ray didn't want to do this, not when he was tired, not when he had his normal glasses on, not when the only weapon he could find in his bathroom was a fucking toilet plunger, but the thing was already pushing itself off of the ground and shaking splinters of rotten wood from his now-shredded door out of its fur. He didn't have a choice. He threw his toothbrush down and grabbed the plunger, deciding to make do with what he had until something better presented itself.

His eyes still sore and his vision hazy, he charged at the thing, which he was becoming increasingly more certain was the Enderwolf that Adam guy had spoken of. It was huge and canine, with a snout and large teeth and Ray really didn't want to think about what those teeth could do, he just wanted this thing out of his house.

The beast had drawn itself to full height, which happened to be so large it hunched back slightly, not quite fitting into Ray's home. It let out a low, menacing growl and Ray did the only thing he could. He thrust the plunger into its chest.

It did absolutely nothing.

With a sweep from a powerful clawed paw-like hand, Ray was flung across the room. He collided with something hard, which could have been his bathtub or his toilet. He didn't really concern himself with it at this point.

He put himself on auto-pilot. He tore his glasses off, and blinked a few times. He could still make out the wolf as it drew nearer, its growling getting louder, its breathing heavy. His eyes igniting once again with that smouldering heat he was becoming so accustomed to, he squinted slightly. If he messed this up, it was over. He did not want to die tonight, and he did not want it to be at the hands of some demonic wolf-thing. He pushed himself up, that heat still building, still building, his movements matching the slow, precise movements of the wolf. Then he lunged.

Throwing himself at the beast, he let off the blast that he'd been building, and this time the wolf literally tore through his wall as it flew back. The effort from such an attack left Ray woozy, but he could barely leave himself a moment to recover. He tore out of the room, the wolf covered in dust and paint and plaster letting out a thunderous groan. Ray flung himself down the stairs, hearing the wolf push itself up behind him and knowing it would be hot on his tail.

He owned no weapons, he skipping at least two steps at a time, and stumbling somewhat on the final two. He had nothing to attack this thing with other than his fucking eyes, which were already protesting to staying open. Every blink was agony, but his previous exhaustion was lost to adrenaline. His heart was racing, but his mind was moving even faster, desperately trying to think of some way, any way, to beat this thing.

He had a broken broom in one of his kitchen cupboards. He didn't know what use that would be against a fucking massive demon-beast-wolf-monster-thing, but it was the best he could think of. He could already hear its pounding footsteps on the stairs behind him. His back was aching from where he'd hit it and he'd landed far too hard on his ankle while he'd catapulted himself down the stairs, but he had to keep going. He had to keep going even if his head was spinning and his vision was blurry and his eyes, dear God his eyes, were screaming with anguish.

He raced through his living room, no idea of how much time he had. Almost sliding on the panelled floor of his kitchen, he ripped open the cupboard door and thrust his hand inside. The splintering handle of the broom now in his grip, he slammed the door shut and, gulping, headed back to the living room to meet his aggressor.

The wolf was pacing. Ray didn't know if pacing was a thing wolves did, but this one was doing it. As soon as he entered the room, it snarled at him, brandishing those teeth, teeth like broken glasses gnashing together, teeth that couldn't wait to close around Ray's throat and pull.

It had been years since Ray had played any kind of sport that wasn't virtual, but he remembered the basics of baseball and adopted that stance, legs slightly apart, broom handle wielded like a bat. "Come at me," he spat, his breathing heavy and laboured. "Hit me with your best shot!"

He didn't know why he was yelling at the wolf, but in a matter of seconds a huge mass of fur and teeth was barrelling towards him. He had to get his timing just right, come on, wait, wait, don't think about the teeth, do not think about the teeth-

He brought the broom round to meet the wolf's face, the splintered edge whipping across its muzzle and the force turning the beast away from him. He stepped back, letting go of the handle as the wolf circled back around the room until it was facing him again. Ray wasn't sure, but it looked like his hit had, despite all odds, done some form of damage; the fur on its snout was matted with something dark, and Ray was praying it was blood, praying he'd landed a hit.

The wolf lunged forwards again, Ray barely dodging its attack. He was getting tired. The wolf was getting pissed.

It took him a few moments to form a plan. A shitty plan, but a plan all the same. If he could just move so that the wolf was facing the window-

Sharp teeth bit the air to his right. The wolf had only just missed him. He was running out of time. He was running out of options. The window was his only hope.

He moved so he was stood in front of the window. He was gonna do that bull thing, he decided. He didn't know if that would work with a wolf, or without a cloth or whatever, but he yelled, "Hey! Wolfie!"

It let out a low but bellowing roar. Ray felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. It threw itself at him, leaping, almost as though it was planning to attack him from above. He dropped to the floor and crawled as fast as he could to avoid it, friction from his carpet shredding his raw, unprotected knees, jumping up as the wolf's claws tore through empty space, and putting everything into this, into his one final attack.

He turned slowly, letting his eyes close for a fraction longer than he should, feeling that familiar heat, that scorching irritation beginning to gather behind his lids. His eyes snapped open, the burning warming his face. He felt a few trickles of sweat slide down his boiling cheeks, and he let it go, he just let the explosion happening inside his eyes loose, firing everything at the wolf in a beam so bright he couldn't see whether or not he was even hitting it.

But he heard the crash as something heavy broke through glass, and blinked the beam off. He'd never had to concentrate so much energy on a blast before, and even after he stopped it, he still felt it there, his eyes still on fire, even though he wasn't actually using any power.

He heard the wolf let out a high-pitch yelp as it pushed itself up, and, moving closer to the window, saw that it was holding one of its paw-like hands at a funny angle. Lights in the houses across from his started to flicker on; curious neighbours who had no doubt heard the crash waking up unsure whether it was their window that had broken. The beast fixed its blazing eyes on Ray for a moment, letting out an angry huff of breath, before it glanced up at those lights, and turned away from him, attempting to escape.

Ray didn't have time to savour any feelings of victory. He was shaking and exhausted and the wolf was injured. It would be slower than usual. It would be easier to catch.

He reached into his pocket, grabbing his phone, and hurriedly stabbing in a few numbers. Holding it to his ear, he raced into the hall and pulled his creased, wrinkled suit from his boot, cursing his idea to shove it in there in the first place.

Gavin didn't pick up. Ray scoffed and threw his phone down, using both hands to tear off his shorts and shove his suit on. He hated changing into his suit, and it was harder than usual, what with his hazy vision and shaking hands, but he did it, eventually, feeling a damn sight calmer with his super specs on.

From upstairs, he could hear the steady trickle of water. From downstairs, the vibrating of his phone. He grabbed it before tearing through the front door and into the street. Fuck being seen. Fuck his nosey neighbours hearing a fight and looking out to see a man in a cape leave the scene. Fuck everything.

"Did you phone me?" came the static voice of a drowsy Gavin.

"Yeah man," Ray panted, slowly starting to run in the direction the wolf had headed, "you will not believe what just happened."

"What just happened?" the Brit asked, still not quite awake. Ray didn't have time to envy him for actually getting some sleep. He was fuelled entirely on adrenaline now, slowly forgetting about his many aches and pains.

"Okay so, you know that wolf thing from the video? The one that attacked the warehouse?"

"The Enderwolf, yeah..."

"Well, let's just say that that isn't the only house that it's attacked."

There was a pause. "I don't understand," Gavin mumbled. "You mean-"

"I just got out of a fight with it, yeah," Ray assured him. "A kick-ass fight. And by kick-ass fight I mean that wolf got its fucking ass handed to it. By me. It ran away like a little bitch. I'm suited up and pursuing it now."

Ray assumed Gavin's silence was one of shocked awe. "Oh man," Gavin was probably thinking, "Ray is really cool. Like so cool. He just beat up a fucking wolf. Man."

If Gavin had been thinking that, he didn't say it. Instead, he told Ray, "I don't understand what you're saying."

"I'm saying grab your guns and stupid hats; it's wolf-hunting season."


	12. Chapter 12: The Enderwolf Showdown

**(A/N) Hey guys, sorry that this is going up later than it should be, just am still being held up by real life, work and college, but hey, we can deal with small delays, right? After all, isn't this just the best X-Ray and Vav fic out there? The correct answer is yes, yes it is. Anyways, left you guys on a bit of a cliff-hanger last time, and, funnily enough, this one will leave you on an even bigger cliff-hanger, but oh well. Another fantastic chapter by Jerem6401, and end our first arc in this fic. Arc two will be even bigger, badder and more epic in every way!**

**As I'm sure I've mentioned before, we're still looking for writers interested in writing for Carolina in our sequel to Phase One: Genesis, so if anyone out there is interested, just PM me and I'll give you the necessary details!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Twelve – The Enderwolf Showdown**

**Ray Narvaez Jr / X-Ray**

**Written by Jerem6401**

* * *

"_But, with time, one has encountered many of the monsters, and one is increasingly less terrified of those still to be met." _― Kay Redfield Jamison, _An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness_

* * *

X-Ray leapt from his window and dropped to the street below. He could see the Enderwolf running at full sprint, flashing in and out of visibility as it went under the streetlights. X-Ray hit a button on his gauntlet. A small beeping began, and progressively got faster. X-Ray kept his eyes locked on his target, as something began rolling down the street behind him. X-Ray leapt into the air, landing on a motorized scooter as it raced in autopilot down the road.

He slammed the throttle, pushing the scooter to its limits. The Enderwolf was way out in front, but the red misty trail he left behind him was giving away his position. X-Ray reached up and flipped a switch on the side of his glasses, white and red swirls appearing on his lenses, which immediately began to spin. Suddenly everything in his sight turned black, with distinctive white outlines, and the red mist of the Enderwolf brightly highlighted. X-Ray could now follow his path without any trouble.

"Slippery bastard!" X-Ray yelled. He watched the trail spin off the road and into a nearby alley. X-Ray ripped his scooter to the side and headed for the entrance. Citizens on the sidewalk gasped as he came barrelling towards them.

X-Ray lifted a small box to his mouth and began to speak, his voice amplifying out of a speaker on his bike. "Out of the way!" he yelled. "Scooter Patrol coming through!"

The citizens leapt onto the ground, dodging X-Ray as he tore through the alley. He followed the trail while dodging fallen dumpsters and barrels, avoiding the civilians as he sped by in hot pursuit. He looked up and saw his target, his eyes narrowing as he tried to process this new information. The Enderwolf was running at full sprint along the wall of a building, his claws digging into the brick as he went, keeping him off the ground.

X-Ray lifted the box to his mouth again. "Hey asshole!"

The Enderwolf turned to look at him. "Why don't you act like a big brave dog and not a cowardly lio…"

The Enderwolf grunted and suddenly vanished into a puff of red smoke. Before X-Ray could finish his sentence, the wolf appeared in front of him and took a swipe with his massive paw. He batted X-Ray in the chest, flipping him off his bike and launching him over a chain link fence. X-Ray crashed down into a puddle in an open basketball court. Ignoring the pain that raged throughout his entire body, he shook off the attack and pushed himself to his knees, groaning as he did so.

He then heard another splash behind him as the Enderwolf leapt over the fence and into the court with him. It might as well have been an arena. Turning to face his foe, X-Ray smiled and gave a lazy salute, privately wondering why the hell he had thought it was a good idea to chase this thing. The wolf growled angrily as it moved towards X-Ray, its teeth bared, eyes narrowed in an animalistic rage. X-Ray stood up and whipped his cape around to his back, heroically, as though the Enderwolf was just another hired thug or burglar. There he stood, hands on his hips, chest pushed out, smiling confidently into the beast's face.

"I beat you up once, wolf!" he yelled. "Don't make me do it again!"

The Enderwolf bared his teeth, before roaring and vanishing into his red mist. X-Ray raised his arms into a fighting stance, on guard, as the area fell silent. He was listening for anything… any trace of where the wolf had disappeared to. He heard cars in the distance, planes overhead, and then… a small scratch on the ground behind him.

He spun around just as the Enderwolf tackled him to the floor, snarling ravenously as it did so, its teeth snapping at his throat. X-Ray kicked his legs up, throwing the wolf off of him and rolling to his feet, panting heavily. The wolf disappeared before hitting the ground and then reappeared over X-Ray. He dropped down, slamming his paw into X-Ray's head, its claws leaving bloody furrows across the top of his skull, causing him to gasp as pain washed over him. The Enderwolf quickly disappeared again, showering Ray in the mist.

"Oh man!" he yelled, raising his hand to his head, which came away sticky with blood. "If you could stop doing that… that'd be great!"

The wolf appeared in front of Ray again, this time slashing it his chest, tearing his suit and knocking the hero onto his back, gasping and winded. The wolf stood over X-Ray, saliva dripping from his jaws as he bared his teeth, and X-Ray quickly glanced around for anything that could give him the edge over this monster, fear filling him as he came up with nothing.

"Hey you mong!" a voice shouted from far behind the creature. The Enderwolf looked up as another motorcycle came ripping over one of the buildings next to him, silhouetting it and its rider in the moon behind it. Vav leapt off his bike and fell towards the enemy. "Prepare for a buncing you'll never forget you little bitch hairy little git…"

As Vav was just about on the Enderwolf, he roared and slammed his fist into Vav's chest, knocking him down onto the concrete. The Enderwolf reached down and grabbed Vav's throat, lifting him into the air. He titled his head as he examined his prey. The wolf growled and leaned in… emitting a horrible, low tone from deep within.

"Puny man!" he snarled, spittle drenching Vav's face. X-Ray sat up and shook his head. The Enderwolf must have been getting stronger, but how? X-Ray lifted his hand to his glasses and started his tracking vision again. That's when he saw it. Purple particles floating in the air around them and being absorbed into the Enderwolf's frame. He traced the source of the particles and paused as he discovered it. Papers of some kind were stuck on the fence around them. Eight of them. The lists had strange markings all over them, and were constantly emitting these purple particles, floating against the wind…even though they're really was no wind to speak of. Not even a gentle breeze.

"That's it!" X-Ray yelled. "Vav! Hold on!"

X-Ray pressed another button on his glasses, which immediately turned a bright red, polarizing just in time for him to unleash his own assault. The Enderwolf turned in time to see a blast of energy fire from X-Ray's eyes and crash into his chest, sending it flying into the air, crashing against the chain-link fence behind it. Vav flew from the wolf's grip and dropped down into the puddle, groaning, just as X-Ray had himself only a while earlier.

"Oh! Sod it!" he yelled.

"Vav! The lists! They're giving the Enderwolf power. This must have been a trap. He wanted us to come here." The Enderwolf roared as he turned around to face the duo. X-Ray and Vav looked at one another and nodded, not even needing words to communicate the rest of their plan. X-Ray hummed slightly before stepped forward and sticking his finger into the air, singing loudly.

"X-RAY!"

"AND VAV!" Vav ran straight at the Enderwolf, seeing him bring his arms up in preparation to strike. Vav dropped to the floor and slid between the monster's legs, popping up behind the beast and snatched a list off of the fence, ripping it as he did. The Enderwolf gasped when he saw it, and cringed slightly. He growled and vanished once again, disappearing into the night.

X-Ray got to another list and ripped it off the wall. He heard the wolf yell in pain, the howl coming from directly behind him, causing him to spin around, his eyes already glowing as they prepared to unleash another blast. However, before he could, the wolf grabbed X-Ray's suit and slammed the hero into the fence, knocking the wind out of him.

The Enderwolf reared back and made to bite X-Ray directly on the neck, its teeth already bared, when Vav tore another list from its place. The wolf let go of X-Ray and gripped the sides of its head, yelling while it did. X-Ray used the opportunity to load up his eye-blasters again and fire at the wold. However, the wold was clearly a fast learning, dropping X-Ray to the ground just as the beam discharged. However, as he fell, X-Ray twisted his head, and the beam incinerated three more lists, tearing through both the paper and the fence.

The Enderwolf dropped to all fours and shook violently back and forth. It flickered in and out, trying to vanish, but just not having enough juice in the tank. Taking advantage of the creature's momentary weakness, Vav grabbed the last three lists and forcefully tore them in half. The wolf fell to its knees and roared into the sky, before collapsing onto the ground, whimpering in pain. The red mist around it faded away and the fur along its body started to grow shorter, as it began to reverse its transformation. The Enderwolf opened its red eyes, trying to get to its feet, only to see X-Ray and Vav standing together in front of it. They both loaded up a punch and slammed their fists into the wolf's chest, knocking the beast onto its back.

"Boom!" X-Ray screamed.

"Don't come faffing around Achievement City and think you can get away with it!" Vav added.

"Wait… Vav…" Vav looked to X-Ray, who was staring at the Enderwolf, his eyebrows raised in disbelief. "Are you seeing this, too?"

Vav looked back and stared in amazement as the Enderwolf started to shrink down and take on a more human form. Its snout dissolved into a face, its hair shrunk to bare skin, and its massive frame became that of an average man. X-Ray approached the man and raised one eyebrow as he saw his face. Vav joined him and folded his arms.

"Isn't that… isn't that Adam?" he asked. "The guy J-Roll was questioning? The survivor of the damn massacre?!" X-Ray nodded slowly and knelt down next to him, making sure he was still alive. "So he was lying to us after all, huh?"

X-Ray sighed and rested his hand on his knee. "Or maybe he just didn't know."

Vav grunted and put his hands on his hips. "Bollocks! If you're a giant wolf, you're gunna damn know about it!"

Vav was preparing further argument, when he heard something behind him. Something shifting on the rooftop. He heard a click, the sound of a bullet being cocked into position, his senses altered beyond those of normal humans by the serum that had transformed him. Spinning around, the world began to slow down as his adrenaline kicked in, almost as though he entered a world of slow motion, and he was already moving forward just as a thunderous _bang!_ echoed throughout the court. Birds took off from the rooftops around them and the water on the ground rippled, but Vav's eyes were searching for the encroaching bullet, his hand already moving through the air when he saw it, a small metallic glint in the darkness. His hand reached out and closed around something, snatching it out of the air just as the world resumed its normal speed.

Looking down at the bullet in his hand, and glancing back up to the rooftop, estimating its trajectory, it was clear that the shooter had intended it for Adam's head. Vav looked up to see a bearded man grunt in frustration and then quickly turn to run, disappearing from the edge of the rooftop.

"Don't let him get away!" Vav yelled.

"Wait!" a voice cried. The two looked down to see Adam reached up for them, coughing out blood between deep breaths. "Please don't go! What's happening? Where am I?!"

X-Ray looked at Vav and then back up to the rooftop. "We won't leave," X-Ray stated calmly, reassuringly, and turned back to Adam.

Vav sighed and shook his head. He looked down at the bullet in his hand, smiling slightly as he mentally congratulated himself on the save. It was still hot, and he could feel that through his glove. He examined the bullet, noticing something was scratched ever so carefully onto its surface, just like the previous two had been, confirming that the man he had glimpsed was indeed the infamous Bullet-Beard.

_"Here comes Round Two."_


	13. Chapter 13: Transformations

**(A/N) What's up guys, NicKenny here, bringing your you're slightly late dose of X-Ray and Vav, although, surprisingly, neither of our dynamic duo actually feature in this chapter. However, two other highly anticipated characters do, so I think you'll enjoy this chapter. Hell, I know you will! Written by the fantastic Maple Alycia Hood, this is not just a mere chapter. This is an origins story.**

**Also, some big news to announce, which is that our very own Jerem6401's artwork was mentioned recently by Ray in the Let's Play GTA V Online - Part One, namely, his incredible X-Ray and Vav poster, which you can see on the X-Ray and Vav page of our wiki! For those interested in hearing the part, just go to 32:27, and feel both proud and extremely jealous!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen – Transformations**

**Dr Michael Jones / Mogar & Ryan Haywood / Iron-Ryan**

**Written by Maple Alycia Hood**

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_"We make our own monsters, then fear them for what they show us about ourselves."_ ― Mike Carey & Peter Gross, _The Unwritten, Vol. 1: Tommy Taylor and the Bogus Identity_

* * *

Everything was black. He couldn't see or hear anything. Where was he? Was he dead? That would suck. He hadn't been given the chance to marry Lindsay! She'd be so upset! He couldn't do that to her! How was he supposed to go about stopping himself from going... wherever he was going, and get back to living so he could hold her in his arms again? That was all he wanted. Lindsay. He needed to wake up. He didn't want to die. There were so many things he hadn't said or done. No, he refused to die.

There were muffled noises that became clearer after a few seconds. Beeping. A rhythmic beep that he recognized all too well. _A heart monitor._ Was he in a hospital? Damnit, what he wouldn't give to just wake up and get the fuck out of here. What had happened, anyway? He tried to think back. There was a power cut, and some pirate guy on the TV, and then some red mist, and suddenly he was here. Where was here? Michael tried to open his eyes, and was thankful that he could at least do that now. His vision consisted of a blur right now, but it was clearing up, slowly but surely.

He was in a hospital bed. He wasn't, however, in a hospital. He was in a very dark room, but he could just make out the condition he was in. Dozens of tubes were in him, hooked up to various machines surrounding the bed. Inwardly he began to panic. What the fuck was going on? Had he been kidnapped?! _No no no no..._ His thoughts raced with the panic, and he tried to sit up, but found that he couldn't. He was strapped to the damn thing! Furiously he pulled at the belts and chains. He would not die here! He wouldn't even stay here! He would go home, he'd find Lindsay, he'd call Gavin and ask the idiot what the fuck he was thinking leaving his shift early like that, and damnit, he'd ask Lindsay to marry him, and this would all be over.

Someone was here with him. There was a figure over by what looked like the door, though he couldn't make them out. He tried to raise his voice and ask them what was going on, what they wanted, who they were, anything, but his voice came out as a croak, so he shut his mouth again, frustrated by the whole ordeal. What was their problem with him? He'd just been sat watching TV. He hadn't done anything!

"Hello, Michael" the person murmured, moving closer, but Michael's vision was still top blurry to make him out. More questions came to him. How did they know his name? How were they so fucking calm when they'd just kidnapped him? What were they doing? "How do you feel?"

How did he _feel_?

How _did_ he feel...?

Michael felt a lot of things. He felt kind of upset because he might never see Lindsay or Gavin or anyone ever again. He felt annoyed because he and his fiancée were supposed to have dinner together tonight, and they'd ruined it. He still felt kind of tired and woozy from whatever the red mist was. He was very much scared because _hello_, he was tied to a hospital bed and had God knew how many tubes and machines hooked up to him, what the fuck did they think? What else did he feel...

He felt... kind of angry. No, like…really angry. Really fucking angry. Where was this coming from? It felt like his entire body was on fire. This was no Rage Quit anger, this was genuine fucking _rage_. It was expanding inside of his head and it needed to get out. He'd tear himself from this bed, he'd wrap his hands around this person's neck, he'd snap it, he'd go kill everyone in this goddamn building. The biggest surprise was when a feral growl escaped his lips, and he wrestled with the belts and chains keeping him down, more fiercely this time. Yes, he'd get out, and this person would regret ever laying hands on him.

He'd show them.

He'd show them all.

The person seemed tense. Scared? Worried? Good. Whatever was happening to him was horrible but at the same time it felt _good_. If he could just let it out, tear something – or someone? – apart, then he'd be okay. He could go home and he'd be okay. That was all he wanted. Just a couple of fights... no, a lot of fights. He needed to _do_ something, _break_ something, and he had so much rage that he felt like he'd need to do a lot of it.

Where was the person going? They flicked a switch on one of the machines, and a soft hissing noise filled the air. There was a white liquid going through one of the tubes now. Sedative? No! There was too much to do! Michael furiously slammed against everything that tried to keep him at bay. He swore he heard something snap. He was doing it! He'd get out, tear the whole fucking building to pieces. He'd show everyone.

_Fuck that. FUCK THAT. Fuck... that..._

_Not... again..._

_Lindsay..._

* * *

Ryan was in a similar situation, but he wasn't aware of it like Michael was. In fact, it felt like he wasn't aware of a lot of things. He felt groggy and weak, he was struggling to remember how he had gotten where he was and he could barely see anything. Although it didn't help that the room was dark. There was a beeping noise next to him too, but it was irregular, unnatural. It was supposed to be a heart monitor, he suspected, but that didn't sound like a heartbeat at all. What exactly was it connected to?

Was he dead?

No... he could still move. Sort of. He just needed to stand up, then he'd be on his way. He needed to get back to the store, and everything would go back to normal. Wait. _The store!__ He had worked in a store, selling video games, when…something has happened, and he…had he been injured? Was he in a hospital?_ He tried to be confused, but... he couldn't. He'd held every question in his mind with a sense of contempt. For the duration of his consciousness, he hadn't felt any sort of _emotion_. There was no fear, no anger, nothing. He was just there. He just was.

The bed he was on sank slightly, and he turned his attention to the fact that someone had just sat down on the edge. He tried to raise himself to a sitting position to get a good look at the person, but a hand came to his chest and pushed him back down again.

"Easy now, matey," the man, as Ryan found out by his voice, told him. "The store you were workin' at caught fire, and you got yerself pretty messed up. We had to... fix you, in a way, in order to save yer life. After all, we don't have much use for a dead man, do we?"

Fix him? What did that imply? Something was wrong. Ryan's gaze flickered down to the rest of his body. Had he not previously discovered that he couldn't feel emotions anymore, he would've been astounded, and probably very scared. Much of his body was now made of metal. Metal limbs with visible wires and audible hums as they worked. A large part of his torso, and some of his face, he noted after raising a hand to it, was included in this. He was barely even human anymore. That would've made him angry, but once again, no emotions came. And that would've been annoying, but...

"I should warn you, we've included a little chip in the back of yer skull, just in case you get any ideas about escapin'., or nor doin' what we yer," the man rasped, getting to his feet with his hands clasped behind his back and walking a few paces away from him. Ryan's gaze went to the man now, wanting to feel something, anything, but he only felt the emptiness that had filled him ever since he had woken, the void that resided within him. There were no emotions, so there was only one thing left that he could turn to.

A purpose.

A mission.

Something to do.

"What do you want from me?" he asked, and was shocked by how tinny and robotic his voice sounded. Not like a human's at all, but more like something out of a bad science fiction movie. Sure, some of the elements of his voice where there, but the rest was just so...artificial. The man stopped, turning his head slightly, before facing him, placing his hands on the handrails at the end of his bed, regarding him thoughtfully, before he finally spoke.

"I want you to kill X-Ray and Vav."

Ryan lent back on his back, his brain processing this information, nodding slowly to himself as various strategies and plans of attack whirred about within his brain, rapidly evaluating the pros and cons of each, discarding all of the unviable ones from his mind, and, seconds later, he looked back up to the man, his face serious, his robotic left eye blinking red.

"Consider it done."


End file.
